i
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i
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FRONTISPIECE.—The spiny-faced ant-shrike, hormiguero frentispinoso, Xenornis
setifrons.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS
VOLUME 150, Part 3
THE BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC
OF PANAMA
Part 3.—Passeriformes:
Dendrocolaptidae (Woodcreepers) to
Oxyruncidae (Sharpbills)
By
ALEXANDER WETMORE
Research Associate
Smithsonian Institution
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
City of Washington
1972
Copyright © 1972 by the Smithsonian Institution. All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by the Smithsonian Institution Press.
Distributed in the United States and Canada by George Braziller, Inc.
Distributed in the United Kingdom and Europe by David & Charles, Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wetmore, Alexander, 1886-
The birds of the Republic of Panama.
(Smithsonian miscellaneous collections, v. 150)
Publication 4617, 4732,
Includes bibliographical references.
CONTENTS: pt. 1. Tinamidae (tinamous) to Rynchopidae
(Skimmers )—pt. 2. Columbidae (pigeons) to Picidae
(woodpeckers )—pt. 3. Passeriformes : Dendrocolaptidae
(woodcreepers ) to Oxyruncidae (sharpbills).
1. Birds—Panama. I. Title. II. Series: Smith-
sonian Institution. Smithsonian miscellaneous pub-
lications, v. 150, etc.
Q11.S7. vol. 150, etc. [QL687.W45] 598.29862
ISBN 0-87474-122-X (v. 3) 66-61061
Part 1 of The Birds of the Republic of Panama by Dr.
Alexander Wetmore was published by the Smithsonian
Institution in 1965 as volume 150 of its Miscellaneous
Collections series. It covers in systematic sequence the
Tinamidae (Tinamous) through the Rynchopidae
(Skimmers).
Part 2 of The Birds of the Republic of Panamd by Dr.
Alexander Wetmore was published by the Smithsonian
Institution in 1968 as volume 150, Part 2, of its Miscel-
laneous Collections series. It covers in systematic sequence
the Columbidae (Pigeons) through Picidae (Wood-
peckers).
CONTENTS
MAENE 200 CLUTC EL Tle 05 epehcyss ar aa eocie Bers feels Late oder toy aon Saeed doa ae
PNelTO WEG SITIONS seach siteves chest: ake role CVC IECOU SIRS ts let ict needs ranch brat
Ordena basseniionmesia.c¢p5 ays assed onload wos Hee asst duos
Family Dendrocolaptidae: Woodcreepers; Trepadores................
Family Furnariidae: Ovenbirds, Spinetails, and Leaf-scrapers ;
Horneros Ganasteros ys ElojahaSquenos-;4s-eein ce seo eee ele a2 sei
Family Formicariidae: Ant-Thrushes, Ant-Shrikes; Hormigueros.....
Hamilyerehinockyptidae. hapactlosidapactl os. ieeiioee aeons clone
anilye Cotnpidae ms Cotingases Colinpasse eer eee eee eee
Pamily,bipridae:, MManakins) Saltarineseis ....cceseiiees oa teee avtocee
Family Tyrannidae: Tyrant Flycatchers; Atrapamoscas..............
Pamily-Oxyruncidae >. Sharpbills::/\PicosiAgudose. hagachiiiaesckee deme
HT esxcp a yet gs ors tai a SPU ea ie ad tat tah Ele ape NL AST Oh Ele ie sat mi
LIST OF WER S PRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE—The_ spiny-faced ant-shrike, hormiguero frentispinoso,
Xenornis setifrons.
FIGURE
1. Brown woodcreeper, trepador pardo, Dendrocincla fuliginosa ridgwayi
2. Olivaceous woodcreeper, trepador aceitunado, Sittasomus griseicapillus
3. Barred woodcreeper, trepador barreteado, Dendrocolaptes certhia
MEGAN OSE US clk Si cere oes, ete sate ANY Mae napett oN ran achaeosd A
4. Black-striped woodcreeper, trepador listado, Xiphorhynchus lachry-
TOSS HACHEN INO SUStretataae oe ret assay a MeL eel NG or
5. Red-billed scythebill, trepador pico de garfio, Campylorhamphus
trocwlsrostris Drevipennts’ | — Mea. oe tah Osan oe oe ee
6. Pale-breasted spinetail, canastero pechiblanco, Synallaxis albescens
VELA D URE Gf Bi Ns: Hoe ehh os Sino ace Oe LASSE ee
7. Spotted barbtail, fafao punteado, Premnoplex brunnescens...........
8. Lineated leaf-gleaner, hojarasquero rayado, Syndactyla subalaris...
9. Plain xenops, pico lezna pechirrayado, Xenops minutus..............
10. Scaly-throated leaf-scraper, raspahoja garganta escamosa, Sclerurus
QUELCINOICBSE io tI ae ee Mak tase od Bei ci PAM OS d nlc hee Meee
11. Fasciated ant-shrike, hormiguerote rayado, Cymbilaimus lineatus
PSCAGEUS ANAIO Ti. ORs soe ois, cv aes. . SH aes... Serene
12. Great ant-shrike, hormiguero grande, Taraba major melanocrissus,
TAME: . of. s. « nyaganarieennus. 4 cnttewedses gumaeendelabls « MAE CRMC, Pam OR ee oe
13. Barred ant-shrike, pavita hormiguera rayada, Thamnophilus doliatus,
male right, fernialewert. ih. + waliioed at ae keene so Nea ign ee
14. Pygmy ant-wren, hormiguerito pigmeo, Myrmotherula brachyura
BGO TATA eget aisle ccc oie ie soit Rae eh ies AES ORES
15. Streaked ant-wren, hormiguerito rayado, Myrmotherula surinamensis
CEU PEO A ale hs et SY Rta is A Nh teas Sy UNE AAC
26
39
51
60
76
85
107
115
125
130
133
162
165
iv BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
FIGURE
16. Black ant-wren, hormiguerito negro, Myrmotherula axillaris albigula
17. Bare-crowned ant-bird, hormiguero frentipelado, Gymnocichla nudi-
ceps, male left, female right..............0ces cece ceecreceees
18. Black-faced ant-thrush, gallito hormiguero, Formicarius analis.......
19. Spotted ant-bird, corregidor, Hylophylax naevioides, male..........-
20. Ocellated ant-bird, hormiguero manchado, Phaenostictus mcleannant. .
21. Spectacled ant-pitta, hormiguero de anteojos, Hylopezus perspicillatus
22. Silvery-fronted tapaculo, tapaculo plateado, Scytalopus argentifrons,
TIVALS: wie 5 Ser eats i ata fate inate ota e ae Set etinvs ote uacel ona eves (a (ekehe note elses eMesel steht
23. Snowy cotinga, paloma del espiritu santo, Carpodectes nitidus, male
above. female below? sc ioe. Senn. bates ost os oe eee. aaa sone oan
24. White-winged becard, picogrueso aliblanco, Pachyramphus polychop-
bE US SHNELES SMALE s:5 Secc.cis oaie isis ciate ale its ole one ate tolaies crslerel oieteetaretec ef sitet
25. Masked tityra, borreguito, Tityra semifasciata, male above, female
[ya (oh PRS oe Ain ae ee a ie ASR ie PENN Aiki noi pic
26. Black-crowned becard, bacaco pequefio, Erator inquisitor............
27. Three-wattled bellbird, calandria, Procnias tricarunculata, male.....
28. Three-wattled bellbird, calandria, Procnias tricarunculata, female.....
29. Red-capped manakin, saltarin cabecicolorado, Pipra mentalis ignifera
30. White-ruffed manakin, saltarin gorgueriblanco, Corapipo altera, head
in males to illustrate throat pattern. Left, C.a. altera; right, C.a.
heteroleuta:|. oaks eet eee Pe ree ee a vee ae Rotten ate ne
31. Lance-tailed manakin, toledo, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, male...........
32. Golden-collared manakin, doctorcito, Manacus vitellinus vitellinus,
FRIAS io ores elehtc ar arc OP es han cpage seats BUTE Oe On Ge oo el SE th ee
33. Broad-billed manakin, verd6n de montafia, Sapayoa aenigma.........
34. Long-tailed tyrant, maestro, Colonia colonus leuconota, male.........
35. Fork-tailed flycatcher, tijereta sabanera, Muscivora tyrannus mona-
Chas, Daley os. 0.60 ules eee esa dias od Sete eee ee
36. Tropical kingbird, pitirre tropical, Tyrannus melancholicus chloro-
NOLUS) Aharon avesocsinlote late chee, eS biaie es S Ole Bie oe Ne Oe RE ee
37. Streaked flycatcher, papamoscas rayado, Myiodynastes maculatus diffi-
CMES 6 cae a ais when ts cidade & arab beiolasain 5 9 «ce we RR Oe. ee
38. Great crested flycatcher, cabezota de paso, Myiarchus crinitus.......
39. Sirystes, papamoscas copeton, Sirystes sibilator albogriseus, male....
40. Bright-rumped attila, pajaro griton, Attila spadiceus...............
41. Speckled mourner, bobo, Laniocera rufescens rufescens.........+.+.
42. Sulphur-rumped flycatcher, moscareta rabadilla azufrada, Myiobius
sulphureipygius aureatis rir. LRA ae
43. Royal flycatcher, atrapamoscas real, Onychorhynchus mexicanus fra-
terculus, male siete) RE, ee eee
44. Golden-crowned spade-bill, piquichato coronadorado, Platyrinchus
coronatus superciiaris (oi). a AROS eae
45. Black-capped pygmy-tyrant, moscareta pigmea gorranegra, Perisso-
bescons‘atricapillas. ... i 818 5 a a a ae
46. Torrent tyrannulet, moscareta de torrente, Serpophaga cinerea grisea
47. Yellow-bellied tyrannulet, moscareta cejiblanca, Microtriccus brunnei-
capillus brunneicapillus. ....056606ccsdaeciciicedeslc ee
48.
173
193
214
229
234
250
256
270
281
289
295
303
304
317
326
331
335
354
368
377
384
396
423
434
437
442
488
497
502
THE BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
PART 3: ORDER PASSERIFORMES, SUBORDER
TYRANNI, DENDROCOLAPTIDAE (WOOD-
CREEPERS) TO OXYRUNCIDAE
(SHARPBILLS)
By ALEXANDER WETMORE
Research Associate, Smithsoman Institution
INTRODUCTION
Part 1 oF THIS ACCOUNT of the avifauna of the Isthmus of
Panama, published December 27, 1965, included 202 species in the
35 families from the Tinamidae (Tinamous) to the Rynchopidae
(Skimmers). The second, issued September 27, 1968, covered 208
species in the groups from the Columbidae (Pigeons) through the
Picidae (Woodpeckers). The present section covers the first series
in the Order Passeriformes, the Perching Birds, in the 8 families
from the Dendrocolaptidae (Woodcreepers) to the Oxyruncidae
(Sharpbills). In these, 196 species are recognized in Panama.
The procedure for each species follows that of the two previous
parts as outlined in volume 2, pages 2-3. Line drawings and the
colored plate for the present section have been made, as before, by
Walter A. Weber.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the preparation of this section, I have been especially indebted
to Dr. Eugene Eisenmann who has given me a detailed summary of
his observations and notes on many of the species concerned. His
reports and records have assisted measurably in the preparation of
these accounts. Staff members in the various museums that I have
visited to examine specimens have been uniformly courteous in
allowing free access to their collections. Close association with the
staff of the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory in Panama City, especially
with the present Director, Dr. Martin D. Young, and with Dr.
Pedro Galindo and Mr. Eustorgio Méndez, has continued steadily,
much to the advantage of my studies. Dr. Galindo has assisted espe-
cially in the orthography of local names of the species, as in preced-
ing volumes. Throughout the preparation of these reports my wife,
Beatrice Wetmore, has been steadily helpful in checking details in
manuscript and proofs.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS, VOL. 150, PART 3
Order PASSERIFORMES
Family DENDROCOLAPTIDAE: Woodcreepers, Trepadores
This family, restricted to the Americas, currently has 48 species
recognized in the vast area between northern México and central
Argentina. Though variable in size, with total length ranging from
140 to 330 mm, all are generally similar in body form, with the shafts
of the long tail feathers stiffened at the distal end. Most are rather
plain in color, the usual pattern being a mixture of brown, dull chest-
nut, olive, and dull gray, variegated in some with lines or bars of
black, buff, and white. They thus blend with the shadows of the
forests that are their normal haunts. Like woodpeckers or creepers
they climb over the trunks and branches of trees, supported by sharp
claws and stiffened tails. The foot has the three anterior toes of the
Passeriformes, not the two found in the family of woodpeckers.
Their normal flights carry them toward the base of a tree trunk
which they then ascend, searching the bark and the moss and other
growth on it for their usual food of insects, spiders, and other small
prey. While those of Panama may forage occasionally over fallen
logs, in South America some of the larger kinds feed regularly on
the ground where tree growth is scattered or open.
Some are regular attendants on moving ant swarms, attracted by
the insects flushed by the ants. In such situations several may be
found in loose company with birds of other families, assembled be-
cause of the abundant food supply. Other than this, woodcreepers
normally range singly or in pairs.
Nests placed in natural cavities in trees are lined or padded with
leaves or other dry material. The two or three eggs are plain white,
sometimes glossy, but without markings. Parents coming to a nest
after brief absence frequently bring a bit of dry leaf to add to the
nest material.
The usual country name in Panama is subipalo, tree climber,
obviously from their climbing habit, varied to trepador, climber, of
similar derivation. In published manuals an early family name was
picicule, taken from accounts written in French, varied to woodhewer,
long prevalent from the Argentine Ornithology of Sclater and
Hudson, published in 1888. As the birds in climbing secure their
food by probing or seizing, seldom pecking or hammering wood-
pecker-fashion, the group name currently has been varied to wood-
creeper, which seems more appropriate.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 3
The manner of life of those found in Panama is remarkable for
its uniformity among the varied kinds as they clamber over the
trunks of trees. Details of life history of most of the species are
little known. It is interesting to note that though members of the
family range on the mainland of Panama from the tropical lowlands
to the higher forests of the mountains, none are found on the off-
shore islands.
10.
pi
KEY TO SPECIES OF DENDROCOLAPTIDAE
Bill two times or more length of head, slender throughout, strongly sickle-
SHAPES 43: feicistetelcisicia se Pee av Aa ee ed vty Tee AN ees 2
Bill short, slightly, if at all, longer than head, straight, or very slightly
decunveddatetips:. 22: ee ae ee oe aera, die ai. see 3
Bill reddish brown; body color lighter, more reddish brown.
Red-billed scythebill, Campylorhamphus trochilirostris brevipennis, p. 50
Bill dusky or horn brown; body color darker, more olive-brown.
Brown-billed scythebill, Campylorhamphus pusillus, p. 53
Largest of the family in Panama; length 285-330 mn, bill strong, 47-55 mm
long; body robust, feet large.
Strong-billed woodcreeper, Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus, p. 23
Smaller, to very small; length less than 280 mm, with bill weaker, less than
A5yinim fan~mostanuchplesses sae soar: «Wo. Haste. esak sargners eae 4
Under surface buff to buffy white, barred very narrowly with black.... 5
Under surface plain, spotted, or streaked, never barred extensively.... 6
Crown and hindneck barred narrowly with black, like the under side of the
DOGV Elsi) ashe ee eee Barred woodcreeper, Dendrocolaptes certhia, p. 25
Crown and hindneck streaked narrowly with buff to buffy white.
Black-banded woodcreeper, Dendrocolaptes picuninus, p. 30
Foreneck and breast plain, without definite spots or streaks.......... il
Foreneck and breast definitely spotted or streaked...................- 9
Small, wing less than 85 mm; under surface from chin to abdomen gray or
greenish gray....Olivaceous woodcreeper, Sittasomus grisetcapillus, p. 16
Larger, wing more than 95 mm, breast and abdomen brown to grayish
DEO Wi ee ee ee ee ae Se Ee eee: Se SPAS SEM 8
Distinctly brown, throat cinnamon-brown, crown reddish brown.
Ruddy woodcreeper, Dendrocincla homochroa, p. 9
Grayish brown, chin gray, crown grayish brown.
Brown woodcreeper, Dendrocincla fuliginosa ridgwavt, p. 4
Crown and hindneck plain; or if lined or spotted, the markings faint and
smalli/snot fproniinent 3241; cei Rss ee ce Ae aciaeas roe eee tas 10
Crown and hindneck heavily spotted or lined with buff to buffy white.. 13
Chin and throat plain; foreneck sparsely and finely spotted; wing coverts
dull brown like back, secondaries rufous-brown.
Tawny-winged woodcreeper, Dendrocincla anabatina saturata, p. 7
Chin, throat, and upper breast distinctly spotted or streaked.......... 11
Smaller, wing not more than 100 mm; under surface dull brown to olive-
brown, foreneck and breast indistinctly streaked with buff........... 12
4 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Larger, wing more than 100 mm; lower surface dull green, heavily spotted
with buff to buffy white.
Spotted woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus erythropygia, p. 41
12. Small, tail shorter, less than 75 mm; bill short, acutely pointed.
Wedge-billed woodcreeper, Glyphorynchus spirurus, p. 20
Larger, tail long, more than 80 mm; bill longer, with tip of mandible
decurved....... Long-tailed woodcreeper, Deconychura longicauda, p. 13
13. Bill slender, straight, light-colored, the maxilla straight at tip; side of head
pale like malar region and throat.
Straight-billed woodcreeper, Dendroplex picus cextimus, p. 32
Bill heavier, maxilla dark-colored, wholly or in part, with tip decurved;
side vof heady dark Vlike ierowil. dsc). ae. saniee os hides to <ieiam cela emis 14
14. Back black, like crown, heavily streaked with buff.
Black-striped woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus lachrymosus, p. 38
Back grayish brown to reddish brown; streaking present but in most re-
GMC ios sD RIS SRS CORAL 208 2a eR, SE, as ee ee 15
15. Bill stronger, heavier, straight except for tip of maxilla which is decurved ;
streaks on breast broader, those on abdomen indefinite.
Buff-throated woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus guttatus, p. 34
Bill more slender, decurved for distal half; foreneck, breast, and abdomen
With streaks narrower and sharply, linedt. fo-2. scene eine = 16
16. Larger, wing more than 100 mm; crown and hindneck spotted with buff.
Spotted-crowned woodcreeper, Lepidocolaptes affinis neglectus, p. 48
Smaller, wing less than 100 mm; hindneck narrowly streaked with dull
white to buffy white.
Streak-headed woodcreeper, Lepidocolaptes souleyetu, p. 44
DENDROCINCLA FULIGINOSA RIDGWAYI Oberholser: Brown
Woodcreeper, Trepador Pardo
FIGuRE 1
Dendrocincla ridgwayi Oberholser, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 56,
June 29, 1904, pp. 448, 449 (in key), 458. (Talamanca, Costa Rica.)
Dendrocincla olivacea Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862,
p. 466. (Atlantic side on line of Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Antedated by Dendrocops olivaceus Eyton, 1852, a synonym of Dendrocincla
tyrannina. (See Ridgway, U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, p. 292.)
Chin and throat gray. to light grayish brown, merging gradually
into the dark shade of foreneck.
Description.—Length 200-220 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface plain brown, varying slightly from grayish brown to faintly
rufescent, usually duller on the crown; rump and upper tail coverts
cinnamon-rufous; tail cinnamon-rufous, with shafts of quills dull
black; wing coverts like back; primaries and secondaries rufescent,
the outer primaries tipped with grayish brown; side of head olive —
to dusky gray, streaked very narrowly with buff; a narrow line of
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 5
buff above the auricular region ; malar area dull olive; chin and upper
throat dull gray to brownish buff, narrowly and indistinctly barred
or spotted with dusky; foreneck somewhat more brownish, with
shaft lines of brown; rest of under surface light olive-brown to
faintly cinnamon, with the under tail coverts dull cinnamon-rufous ;
under wing coverts ochraceous-buff; under surface of wings tawny-
rufous, with dull grayish tips on longer feathers.
Figure 1.—Brown woodcreeper, trepador pardo, Dendrocincla fuliginosa
ridgwayt.
Juvenile, like adult, but faintly brighter, more cinnamon-brown
above.
A male taken at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 13, 1961, had
the iris dark mouse brown; maxilla and mandible (except gonys)
dusky neutral gray; line of gonys dull neutral gray; tarsus and toes
neutral gray; claws dark neutral gray. Another male from Armila,
6 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
San Blas, February 26, 1963, had the iris light mouse brown; culmen
dull greenish neutral gray; rest of bill black; tarsus and toes dark
neutral gray ; claws dusky neutral gray. A female at El Real, Darién,
January 23, 1964, had the iris mouse brown; gonys neutral gray;
rest of bill dull black; tarsus and toes bluish neutral gray; claws
dusky neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Panama), wing 104.0-109.8
(106.9), tail 84.3-93.5 (87.0), culmen from base 28.2-32.6 (30.5),
tarsus 24.0-25.6 (24.8) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 99.5-103.7 (100.8), tail 82.4—
87.1 (84.9), culmen from base 27.3-30.5 (28.8), tarsus 23.1-24.3
(23.8) mm.
Weight, ¢ 40 grams (Cerro Campana, November 1, 1966, G.V.N.
Powell ).
Resident. Common, in forested areas in the Tropical and Sub-
tropical zones; on the Pacific side from eastern Veraguas (Chitra),
and Cerro Campana (at 850 meters), western Province of Panama,
east through the Province of Panama and Darién (to 600 meters on
Cerro Pirre, and 1430 meters on Cerro Mali); on the Caribbean
side from the Costa Rican boundary in Bocas del Toro to eastern
San Blas ( Puerto Obaldia).
This species has not been found in Chiriqui, and on the Pacific
side of Veraguas is known only from one male in the British
Museum, collected at Chitra by Arcé in 1868. It is found on Cerro
Campana in the western sector of the Province of Panama, and is
common from the southern side of Cerro Azul eastward throughout
Darién. One banded near the Navy pipeline back of Gamboa, Canal
Zone, by F. L. Chapman and E. Tyson, in January 1964, was captured
again in the same area by J. R. Karr in late 1968.
A usual encounter with the Brown Woodcreeper is to see it hover-
ing over one of the moving ant swarms found regularly in the forests.
Here a pair of the birds, less often one alone, may come low down
over the ants, attracted by escaping insects, sometimes clinging, less
often perching briefly. When lines of the marauders climb vines,
shrubs, or small tree trunks the birds briefly may become quite active.
After feeding they may rest quietly in typical clinging posture on
some vertical trunk. While they fly about quickly among other birds
attendant on the ants, sometimes calling briefly, they are not aggres-
sive. Willis (Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 79, 1967, p. 44)
found that usually they gave way to threats from companion bi-
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 7
colored ant-birds, though the woodcreeper is larger and heavier of
body.
As indicated above, the Brown Woodcreeper climbs vertical trunks
like other species of the family, with the tail braced firmly for sup-
port. On the whole they are quiet and, from their color and the
shadows amid which they live, often are inconspicuous. The bill is
strong, and though the sharp tip is slightly decurved the bird in its
search over the trunks of trees may hammer strongly and persistently
on the bark and wood to uncover insect prey. On occasion I have
traced such sounds under the impression that the author was a
woodpecker. The tips of the shafts of the tail feathers are stiff
and firm, affording good support in climbing, but as the points project
only slightly beyond the feather vane, they are less evident than in
some other species of the family. When one perches at rest across a
branch, as it often does for a brief period, it may thus suggest a bird
of some other family.
A set of two eggs in the U.S. National Museum, collected near
Pacuare, Costa Rica, in May 1876, by José Zeled6n, came from a nest
of dry moss built inside the hollow stump of a palm. They are white
in color, with faint gloss (the shell under low magnification appear-
ing slightly rough). In form they are subelliptical, with measure-
ments of 24.8 x 19.2 and 26.2 X 19.5 mm. Skutch (Auk, 1946, p. 339)
notes that when Dendrocinclas leave the nest, they regularly conceal
the eggs beneath the loose material of the lining.
To the north this race ranges on the Caribbean slope through
Costa Rica and Nicaragua to southeastern Honduras (Rio Segovia).
Beyond eastern Panama it is recorded along the Pacific slope through
western Colombia south to western Ecuador, and eastward is found
to northwestern Antioquia (Villa Artiaga, Necocli) and the lower
Sint Valley (south to Quebrada Salvajin in western Cordoba).
DENDROCINCLA ANABATINA SATURATA Carriker:
Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Trepador Alicastafio
Dendrocincla anabatina saturata Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, no. 4,
August (September 7) 1910, p. 649. (El Pozo de Térraba = El Pozo del Rio
Grande, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.)
Throat and faint streaks on upper foreneck light buff ; secondaries
and inner primaries centrally bright tawny brown, with tips and the
upper wing dark like back.
Description.—Length 170-190 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck dull brown, with the feathers usually slightly paler
8 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
centrally; back and wing coverts dull brown; rump paler, more
rufous; upper tail coverts and tail deep cinnamon-rufous, the latter
with the shafts black; primaries and secondaries centrally tawny,
with the tips dusky; an indistinct line above the eye pale tawny; side
of head sooty brown, streaked behind the eye, and spotted on malar
area with dull cinnamon-buff; lores dull grayish buff, tipped with
dusky ; chin and throat buff; foreneck dusky brown streaked lightly
with cinnamon-buff; rest of under surface light umber-brown, be-
coming cinnamomeus on abdomen; under tail coverts and under
wing coverts cinnamon-rufous.
A male, collected at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 5, 1966,
had the iris mouse brown; maxilla and side of mandible fuscous-
black; lower surface of mandible neutral gray; tarsus and toes dull
gray ; claws fuscous-black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
98.1-102.3 (99.9), tail 74.2-82.6 (77.9), culmen from base 24.1—27.0
(25.3), tarsus 23.8-24.9 (24.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 91.0-99.4
(95.9), tail 70.0-76.5 (71.9), culmen from base 22.8-25.8 (24.4,
average of 9), tarsus 22.0-24.6 (23.3) mm.
Resident. Found locally in small number in the tropical lowlands
of western Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles, Alanje, Divala, Bugaba)
less often ranging higher to 1250 meters (Barriles and near El
Volcan).
In Panama this bird is known only from western Chiriqui, where it
was first recorded by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 192)
from a specimen collected by Arcé at Bugaba in 1869. The next re-
port, by Bangs (Auk, 1901, p. 367) recorded three males taken by
W. W. Brown, Jr., at Divala. Mrs. M. E. Davidson secured two
males at Puerto’ Armuelles on November 19, 1929, and one at
Barriles, January 20, 1931. Another specimen from the higher coun-
try was taken by Dr. F. A. Hartman near El Volcan, February 10,
1953:
In the level land below Alanje, on March 8, 1960, I found one in a
small tract of forest at Guacimo, where it was feeding over an ant
swarm. The bird flew down to the ground several times as I watched
it, rose immediately, and returned to a low perch, where it shook its
feet alternately, apparently to dislodge clinging ants. When I
examined its stomach while preparing it as a specimen I found in it
remains of earwigs. Another male was collected March 12 nearby
in brush along the Rio Escarrea at Canta Gallo, where ants were
common, but where I noted no raiding swarms. A few others were
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 9
found in February 1966 climbing about below the tree crown in small
tracts of forest at Olivo near the coast northeast of Puerto Armuelles.
The subspecies seems never to have been common in the Republic,
and undoubtedly has been reduced in numbers through extensive
clearing of the forests. Specimens in museum collections change
color considerably. Those recently collected are easily distinguished
from D.a. anabatina by darker, more olivaceous hue above, and the
duller shade of the centers of the primaries. In Costa Rica this form
ranges in the southwest from the Gulf of Nicoya southward.
Willis (Auk, 1960, pp. 158-159) in British Honduras found these
woodcreepers following columns of raiding ants. Usually they clung
to tree trunks to seize flying insects flushed by the invaders, or those
that alighted near them. He noted their aggressive nature, as fre-
quently they drove at larger ant-tanagers, with these giving way.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, pp. 396-414) in a detailed
account of studies in Costa Rica also found them following ants. He
also verifies their aggressiveness, both with other woodcreepers, and
with such larger species as the Golden-naped Woodpecker (Centurus
chrysauchen) and the Red-crowned (or Wagler’s) Woodpecker
(Centurus rubricapillus) whose nesting and sleeping holes it ap-
propriated.
Skutch found nests of this species placed in natural cavities, some
of them open at the top, and others better sheltered in woodpecker
holes. In all those seen only one bird, assumed to be the female, was
in attendance. In six nests the complete set was of two eggs, ovate in
form, and pure white in color. These were placed on flakes of bark,
rootlets, green moss, and lichens as the nest lining, with other bits
added as incubation progressed. No egg measurements were re-
corded, apparently since the eggs were not accessible. The young at
hatching were covered scantily with long gray down. In one instance
a Tawny-winged Woodcreeper usurped a nest cavity of the Streak-
headed Woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes souleyettt compressus) in
which the latter had two eggs. One of these was hatched and reared
by the intruder after the rightful parents had been driven away!
DENDROCINCLA HOMOCHROA (Sclater): Ruddy Woodcreeper,
Trepador Leonado
Dendromanes homochrous P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27, 1859
(February, 1860), p. 382. (Teotalcingo, Oaxaca, México. )
Throat cinnamon-buff; crown and entire wing cinnamon.
Description—Length 185-195 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown,
rump, wings except tips, and tail chestnut ; back dull rufescent brown ;
Io BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
throat and upper foreneck cinnamon-buff; under surface rufescent
brown, slightly paler on the abdomen, and more rufous on the under
tail coverts ; under wing coverts light rufous.
While this species is widely distributed through the Republic it
is local in occurrence, mainly in the lowlands, and only in areas of
forest. Usually it is found in company with moving ant swarms,
where it rests or climbs on the lower tree trunks, often partly hidden
by the leaves of the undergrowth. If it remains quiet it may not be
noticed. While one may drop down briefly to pick up an insect,
most of this prey is captured above the ground. When there is
momentary activity among the other ant-birds a Ruddy Woodcreeper
may utter a few chattering notes, but on the whole these birds are
silent. Their range is in areas of forest, and where these are cut
the birds disappear. The only report of nesting that I have seen is
by Russell (Birds British Honduras, 1964, p. 102) who records ob-
servations of Morton E. Peck on the nominate race in British Hon-
duras. Two nests were found in June. One with two eggs “was
in a shallow cavity about two feet from the ground in a decayed
stump.” The second, with three eggs was “in a cavity in the base of
a dead palm leaf about five feet from the forest floor.”
Two closely similar subspecies are found in Panama.
DENDROCINCLA HOMOCHROA ACEDESTA Oberholser
Dendrocincla acedesta Oberholser, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 56,
June 29, 1904, pp. 449 (in key), 462. (Southern base of Volcan de Chiriqui,
Panama. )
Characters.—Slightly darker, faintly more olive; averaging some-
what smaller.
A male taken at El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 18, 1965, had the iris
light chestnut-brown (matching the color of the adjacent side of the
head) ; distal line of the culmen black; rest of maxilla dull brown;
mandible fuscous-black, brownish white above the cutting edge;
(color of tarsus not recorded. )
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Bocas
del Toro), wing 100.5-106.1 (103.8), tail 73.7-81.0 (77.5), culmen
from base 25.5-28.5 (26.3), tarsus 26.0-27.6 (27.0) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 96.8-101.8
(99.6), tail 70.3-76.7 (75.9), culmen from base 24.7-27.7 (25.7),
tarsus 24.3-26.5 (25.9) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forested areas in western Chiriqui,
mainly in the lowlands, less frequently in the lower Subtropical Zone
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE Il
(Boquete, El Volcan) ; one record for adjacent Bocas del Toro (on
the upper Rio Changuena).
These birds seem never to have been very common, and as forests
have been cleared have decreased in number through this curtailment
in their habitat. In several seasons in both the mountain area and
the lowlands in Chiriqui I have encountered them on two occasions
only, both near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo west of El Volcan.
The type specimen, in the U.S. National Museum, a bird received
from Osbert Salvin in 1872, has printed on the label “Collected by
Enrique Arcé Veragua” with the locality “Chiriqui” added by hand.
Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 177) wrote that Arcé’s
Chiriqui collections of the period concerned “were formed on the
southern slope of the Volcano’? with Mina de Chorcha, Bugaba, and
Volcan de Chiriqui as the localities. It seems probable that the speci-
men came from the area bounded by Bugaba and Boquete so that it is
appropriate to list the type locality as the southern slope of the
volcano.
DENDROCINCLA HOMOCHROA RUFICEPS Sclater and Salvin
Dendrocincla ruficeps Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, May 1868,
p. 54. (Near Panama City, Panama).
Characters —Faintly darker, slightly more olive especially on the
lower surface ; averaging very slightly larger, with somewhat heavier
bill.
Measurements.—Males (16 from the Province of Panama and
Choco), wing 102.1-108.6 (105.8), tail 73.5-83.2 (77.1, average
of 14), culmen from base 26.5-28.9 (27.8), tarsus 26.7-28.3
(27.5) mm.
Females (11 from Veraguas, Province of Panama, and Darién),
wing 96.4-100.7 (98.1), tail 66.9-76.7 (70.9), culmen from base
24.8-27.1 (26.0), tarsus 24.9-26.9 (25.9) mm.
Weight, ¢° 41 grams (Cerro Campana, Panama, November 1966,
G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Found locally on the Pacific slope from eastern Chiriqui
(Cerro Flores) and Veraguas (below Santa Fé) east through the
Province of Panama, the Canal Zone, and Darién.
The most western record is of male and female collected by
Griscom and Boulton on Cerro Flores in eastern Chiriqui. Others
from Veraguas come from the lower slopes below Santa Fé, and
from Cerro Montuosa in the northern end of the Azuero Peninsula.
I2 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
On March 10, 1951, I collected one at 850 meters elevation on the
south face of Cerro Campana, the highest report to date in mountain
areas. The type specimen in the British Museum, formerly in the
collection of P. L. Sclater was “‘obtained near the city of Panama
by the late Mr. William Thomas Hodgetts Chambers-Hodgetts
(formerly Chambers) during a temporary visit to the isthmus.”
The species seems to have been rare in the general area as the only
other records are of two brought to Lieutenant-Colonel F. S.
Blanton by collectors of the Malaria Control Service, taken in 1955
on August 8 near Cocoli and November 29 on the New Empire Road,
west of the Canal. From the Cerro Azul eastward the bird has been
more numerous. E. A. Goldman in 1911 secured one west of Chepo
on March 20 and two at 100 meters elevation on the south base of
Cerro Azul on March 20 and 28. I found two in the same area in
1949 at Utivé on April 22 and 25, and near Chepo from April 16
to 24. Two in the Havemeyer collection at Yale were taken at
Puerto San Antonio on the Rio Bayano on February 22 and 27,
1927, At the base of Cerro Chucanti and along the Rio Majé in
March 1950, they were common mainly low down, but one was col-
lected at over 500 meters. Farther west in Darién they appear to be
rare. Thomas Barbour collected one on the lower slopes of Cerro
Sapo on April 21, 1922. And on March 31, 1959, I secured one near
where the Rio Tuquesa joins the Chucunaque.
As has been stated, these are forest birds of retiring habit, seen
most often in company with raiding ant swarms, usually singly or at
most only two or three among the other ant-birds. They may fly
out actively above the forest floor if small insects are flushing. But
more often are observed climbing quietly or clinging rather low
down on tree trunks. When disturbed they retreat rapidly to other
resting places and there remain hidden. In the savanna area between
the Rio Pacora and the lower Rio Bayano below Chepo I was
interested to find a few ranging singly through open forest. They
are easily overlooked in such coverts, as it is more usual to locate
them when attracted by moving ant columns. Occasionally I saw
one in company with the more abundant Dendrocincla fuliginosa,
both ranging amicably without apparent competition.
Beyond Darién they continue in northern Choco, in the lower
valley of the Atrato, northwestern Colombia.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 13
DECHONYCHURA LONGICAUDA (Pelzeln): Long-tailed
Woodcreeper, Trepador Cola de Unas
Dendrocincla longicauda Pelzeln, Orn. Bras., Abth. 1, 1868, p. 60. (Manaus,
Amazonas, Brazil.)
Small, slender; dark brown, with chin and throat buff; in color
pattern similar to the Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, but larger, with
longer bill and longer tail.
Description—Length 170-185 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
brownish olive to olive, with shaft lines of buff; back and scapulars
reddish brown to olive-brown; lower rump and upper tail coverts
chestnut ; wing coverts somewhat paler than back; wings cinnamon-
rufous, with the tips of the primaries dusky ; tail, including shafts of
the rectrices, chestnut ; lores dull grayish white; narrow superciliary
streak buff; side of head mixed dusky and buff; chin and throat
dull buff; lower foreneck, breast, sides, and abdomen dusky-olive,
with the upper breast spotted with buff, the spots bordered narrowly
with olive-black; lower breast, and in some the abdomen, with shaft
lines of buff; under tail coverts cinnamon; axillars basally white;
under wing coverts cinnamon-buff; inner surface of primaries and
secondaries basally cinnamon-rufous.
Dr. Thomas R. Howell (Auk, 1956, pp. 517-528) has made a
careful analysis of specimens then available from Central America,
29 in number, among them two that he had collected at Arenal in
northwestern Nicaragua, a notable extension of the previously known
range. These two agree with the series from Costa Rica and are
identified as the subspecies typica. With only three specimens avail-
able from central and eastern Panama, and only one of these
recently collected, differences assigned by Griscom to birds of that
area were not apparent so that these three were placed with typica.
With six additional skins, collected in the eastern area since 1957
it is now apparent that birds from this locality are very faintly darker,
more olive above. With due allowance for the extensive color
changes as skins age in museums we may now recognize two races
in the Republic of Panama.
As a whole the species ranges from northwestern Nicaragua
through southern Central America, and in South America from
Colombia and southern Venezuela to northern Bolivia and central
Brazil.
14 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
DECONYCHURA LONGICAUDA TYPICA Cherrie
Deconychura typica Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, September 4, 1891,
p. 339. (Pozo Azul de Pirris, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica.)
Characters ——Slightly more rufescent on dorsal surface.
On the label of the type specimen the collector, José C. Zeledon,
noted the iris as dark brown; maxilla black; mandible, tarsus, and
feet “plumbeous.”’
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
92.5-99.9 (96.8), tail 90.0-100.6 (94.8), culmen from base 23.4—
25.2 (24.2, average of 9), tarsus 21.7-22.8 (22.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Bocas del Toro, and Costa
Rica), wing 84.2-89.5 (86.6), tail 80.1-88.0 (84.2), culmen from
base 21.5-23.5 (22.3), tarsus 19.5-21.8 (20.6) mm.
Resident. Rare in lowland forests. Recorded on the Pacific slope
in western Chiriqui (Divala, Bugaba); on the Caribbean side in
Bocas del Toro (Almirante) and northern Veraguas (Rio Calo-
vévora ).
The Long-tailed Woodcreeper was first recorded in the Republic at
Divala, Chiriqui, when W. W. Brown, Jr., collected an adult male and
a young female in December 1900 (Bangs, Auk, 1901, p. 367). An-
other, now in the American Museum of Natural History, was taken
by H. J. Watson at Bugaba, May 11, 1903. R. R. Benson collected
one at Almirante, Bocas del Toro, June 28, 1927, and Benson and
Gaffney one on the Rio Calovévora, northern Veraguas, September
18, 1926.
In Costa Rica, where it seems to be somewhat more common, Slud
(Bull. Amer. Mus. no. 128, 1964, pp. 196-197) heard it giving a low
chipping call, a repetition of a single note. He also observed it “anting
with some small insect too stout-bodied to be an ant.” George K.
Cherrie (Anal. Inst. Fisico-Geografico Nac. Costa Rica, vol. 6, 1893
(1895), p. 72) described a nest found at Pozo Pital on the Rio
Naranjo, Costa Rica, located in a dead tree trunk about 9 meters from
the ground. The nest was placed in a cavity that opened at the top of
the stub, and was a little less than a meter deep. The bottom was
lined thickly with dry leaves. The female, flushed from the nest, on
her return carried a dead leaf to add to the nest material. She was
collected and is now in the U.S. National Museum. The two eggs
were described as glossy white (like the eggs of woodpeckers.) One
was broken as Cherrie descended the tree (due apparently to the
attack of biting ants housed in the base of the stub). The other
measured 21.8 x 17 mm.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 15
The Spanish name cola de uiias, hook or claw-tailed, referring to
the pointed curved tips of the central feathers, used by the birds
as a brace in climbing, is from Cherrie’s account cited above.
DECONYCHURA LONGICAUDA DARIENENSIS Griscom
Dechonychura typica darienensis Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, April
1929, p. 172. (Cana, Darién, Panama.)
Characters —Faintly more olive, less rufescent, above.
Measurements.—Males (2 from eastern Province of Panama and
Darién), wing 91.4, 95.1; tail 88.0, 90.2; culmen from base 23.7
(1 only) ; tarsus 20.9, 21.0 mm.
Females (8 from eastern Province of Panama, Canal Zone, Darién,
and northwestern Colombia), wing 84.0-88.7 (85.7), tail 80.9-87.6
(83.7), culmen from base 20.0-22.0 (21.2), tarsus 20.2-21.8
(21,1) min.
Resident. Rare; found mainly in lowland forests ; recorded on the
Pacific slope from western Province of Panama (at 850 meters on
Cerro Campana), east along the south base of Cerro Azul, the lower
Rio Bayano (Puerto San Antonio), and near Chiman (Rio Corott)
to Darién (Santa Fé, Cana); on the Caribbean side in the Canal
Zone (Gamboa, Lion Hill), and San Blas (Mandinga).
This bird, little known in Panama, in appearance and action is
much like the more common Olivaceous Woodcreeper, but differs de-
cidedly in its much darker color. On the few occasions that I have
seen it, in heavy stands of forest, the bird climbed upward on tree
trunks, in action typical of other members of the family. On Cerro
Campana, March 5, 1951, I took one in heavy forest on the southern
face below the summit. From the northern Canal Zone there is an
ancient specimen collected at Lion Hill about 1865 by McLeannan,
and received by the Smithsonian the following year in a collection
that came from Thomas Rhodes. While this is the earliest record for
the Republic it was not noted in literature until listed by Ridgway
(U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, p. 286). Earlier, from its poor
condition as a specimen, it seems to have been identified by Sclater
and Lawrence as Xiphorhynchus guttatus, a much larger species.
Another record is one in the American Museum of Natural History
from Gamboa, collected January 23, 1964, by F. L. Chapman and
E. Tyson. A. P. Smith secured three at Puerto San Antonio on the
lower Rio Bayano in February, 1927. I collected one on the Rio
Corotu, above Chiman, February 20, 1950. In Darién it was taken
by R. R. Benson at Cana, on Cerro Pirre, August 6, 1928. Another
16 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
in the American Museum was collected by G. I. Child at Santa Fé,
March 3, 1967. At Mandinga in the western San Blas, I found two
on February 1 and 14, 1957.
The race probably ranges eastward along the San Blas coast, as
we have a female taken by M. A. Carriker, Jr., at Necocli on the
eastern shore of the Golfo del Darién, in extreme northern Antioquia,
Colombia. This is near the southern limit for the race, as a specimen
from Villa Artiaga 125 kilometers farther south is the paler race,
D. 1. minor.
SITTASOMUS GRISEICAPILLUS (Vieillot): Olivaceous
Woodcreeper, Trepador Aceitunado
FIGURE 2
Dendrocopus griseicapillus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd., vol. 26,
December 1818, p. 119. (Concepcion, Paraguay. )
Small, slender-bodied ; forepart of body grayish olive.
Description—tlLength 145-160 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck grayish olive; back and scapulars darker, with a light
wash of cinnamon; rump and upper tail coverts cinnamon-rufous ;
alula and wing coverts similar to back but slightly darker; primaries
and secondaries cinnamon-rufous, with the inner webs distally dusky ;
tail cinnamon-rufous, with the shafts of each feather pale dull red;
side of head, foreneck, breast, and bend of wing light grayish olive ;
abdomen slightly paler; under tail coverts cinnamon; under wing
coverts and axillars buff to buffy white; band across inner webs of
primaries, except outermost, and secondaries pale buff.
The Olivaceous Woodcreeper is typical of its family in its method
of climbing steadily on the trunks and branches of trees, differing
from the larger kinds found in Panama in its less robust, slender
form, accentuated by the proportionately elongated tail. In Panama
it is a bird of the more open woodlands, mainly of the Pacific slope.
As a species it has an extensive distribution from southern México
to Bolivia, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil. In this vast
area it displays much variation in depth of color, and to lesser degree
in form. Those of Panama differ mainly from the populations found
from México to Costa Rica in slightly larger, heavier bill. Two
geographic races are recognized in the Republic.
Little is on record as to the life history. Alexander Skutch (Publ.
Nuttall Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp. 61-62), near Cafias Gordas,
Costa Rica, on March 25, 1964, saw one carry a few dead leaves
“into a wide opening about 40 feet up in the side of a tall dead trunk
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE nz
of a palm (Euterpe sp.).” Similar action was repeated twice in early
April, and about April 18 incubation appeared to have begun. Dr.
Skutch in a morning of observation noted that periods of incubation
extended from 2 to 58 minutes, separated by recesses of 7 to 25
minutes when the bird was away. On leaving, the bird climbed
above the opening to the top of the trunk and then flew. On returning
FigurE 2.—Olivaceous woodcreeper, trepador aceitunado, Sittasomus
griseicapillus.
it alighted below and climbed to the entrance. Usually on return
the woodcreeper brought a small dead leaf or a leaf fragment to add
to the nest, which was wholly hidden in the cavity. There were no
further observations as some mishap appeared to have broken up the
nesting. Only one bird was seen at the site during the part of April
when he made his observations.
As I have collected the form Jevis in western Chiriqui at Sereno
18 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
on the Panamanian side of the boundary only 10 kilometers distant
from Cafias Gordas where Dr. Skutch made his observations, it is
probable that the nest was of this race.
SITTASOMUS GRISEICAPILLUS LEVIS Bangs
Sittasomus levis Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, January 30, 1902,
p. 46. (Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters.—Slightly duller colored above; faintly darker on
lower surface.
A male taken near El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 15, 1965, had the iris
dark brown; maxilla fuscous-brown; mandible dull neutral gray;
tarsus brownish gray; toes fuscous; claws fuscous-black.
Measurements——Males (14 from western Chiriqui), wing 75.1-
83.3 (80.0), tail 71.3-78.1 (74.8, average of 13), culmen from
base 16.0-17.8 (16.9), tarsus 17.6-18.4 (18.0) mm.
Females (12 from western Chiriqui), wing 70.1-75.5 (72.9),
tail 65.4-71.7 (67.8, average of 11), culmen from base 15.0-17.1
(15.9), tarsus 17.0-17.9 (17.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the upper Tropical and lower Sub-
tropical zones in Chiriqui, mainly from Boquete west to the Costa
Rican border, but ranging east to eastern Chiriqui (Cerro Flores).
Three collected by Mrs. M. E. Davidson, January 3-14, 1932, on
the ridge called Chame south of Cerro Flores, loaned for examina-
tion by the California Academy of Sciences, with four taken on
Cerro Flores itself (1100-1160 meters) by Griscom and Boulton,
March 5-13, 1924, are identified as this race, the most eastern records.
To the west as noted above I recorded it at Sereno on the boundary
with Costa Rica.
SITTASOMUS GRISEICAPILLUS VERAGUENSIS Aldrich
Sittasomus griseicapillus veraguensis Aldrich, Sci. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 7, August 31, 1937, p. 83. (Rio Mariato, 75 meters elevation, 16
kilometers east of Golfo de Montijo, Veraguas, Panama. )
Characters.—Slightly lighter colored on the lower surface, espe-
cially on the abdomen; also averaging paler above, especially on the
head.
A male, collected on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 27, 1964, had
the iris reddish brown; maxilla, except as noted, fuscous-black; an
indefinitely marked space in front of nostril dull brownish fuscous ;
cutting edge and gape dull white; mandible neutral gray ; tarsus with
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 19
front grayish brown, the rear surface pale dull brown; toes dull
neutral gray ; claws dark neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Los Santos, Herrera, Panama,
and Darién), wing 74.0-80.4 (78.0), tail 67.4-74.2 (70.8), culmen
from base 16.1-17.8 (16.9, average of 9), tarsus 17.0-17.8 (17.3,
average of 9) mm.
Females (10 from Los Santos, Herrera, Veraguas, eastern sector
of Panama, and Darién), wing 65.8-73.8 (70.7), tail 60.0-69.3 (64.2,
average of 9), culmen from base 15.2-17.2 (16.1), tarsus 16.0-17.5
(16.8) mm.
Resident. Found locally in wooded areas on the Pacific side from
Veraguas and the Azuero Peninsula east through Darién; on the
Caribbean slope from northern Veraguas (Calovévora) and northern
Coclé (Cascajal) through the Canal Zone to western San Blas
(Mandinga).
These woodcreepers frequent gallery forest where, because of
their quiet habits and inconspicuous coloration, they may be more
common than the scattered records indicate. Aldrich found them in
eastern Veraguas back of the Golfo de Montijo, from near sea level
to 900 meters in the inland mountains (Cerro Viejo). On the eastern
side of the Azuero Peninsula I collected one in the hills called Los
Voladores beyond Portobellilo in the Province of Herrera, and
another near Parita. On the Pacific side of the Canal Zone, J. R.
Karr banded one at Chiva Chiva, December 14, 1968. The Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History has a male collected by E. S.
Morton at Fort Kobbe, January 19, 1971. In my own work I have
found it most often from the southern side of Cerro Azul eastward.
Goldman collected two at 900 meters on Cerro Pirre, and I found
it at 1425 meters on Cerro Mali. On the Caribbean side Arcé took
one at Calovévora, northern Veraguas (specimen now in the British
Museum), and there is one in the U.S. National Museum taken by
Heyde and Lux at Cascajal, northern Coclé, on March 13, 1889. On
March 1, 1952, I shot one at El Uracillo, farther east in Coclé, but
lost it in the dense ground cover. There have been no records for it in
the Chagres Basin in the northern Canal Zone or in adjacent Panama.
In February 1957, we saw two or three near Mandinga in the western
San Blas.
Eugene Eisenmann reports their call as a thin high trill, accompanied
by shivering wings. Stomachs of two taken by Goldman on Cerro
Pirre were filled with broken bits of insects, largely remains of
fulgorids, but with parts of roach egg cases, ants, an ichneumon fly,
20 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
two small caterpillars, and bits of beetles, including weevils,
curculionids, a cerambycid, elaterids, and a small scarabaeid.
GLYPHORYNCHUS SPIRURUS (Vieillot) : Wedge-billed
Woodcreeper, Trepador Pico de Cufia
Neops spirurus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist Nat., nouv. éd., vol. 31, September
1819, p. 338. (Cayenne. )
A small woodcreeper, with head and under surface reddish brown;
distinguished in life from Sittasomus by the darker brown crown
and the spotted foreneck and upper breast.
Description—Length 140-150 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
reddish brown, darker on the crown; rump, upper tail coverts, wings,
and tail cinnamon-rufous; primary coverts tipped narrowly with
dusky ; superciliary streak buffy white; cheeks sooty brown, spotted
and streaked more or less with dull white; chin and throat buff to
cinnamon-buff, spotted lightly with dusky; under surface olive-
brown, slightly reddish on under tail coverts; foreneck and upper
breast streaked more or less heavily with dull white to buffy white,
lines of this color in some continued over the lower breast; under
wing coverts white, changing to reddish brown on the edge of the
wing.
The wedge-bill, while widely distributed through the Republic,
often is absent in forested areas that seem suited to it. They may
be overlooked in casual observation, as they climb quietly in spirals
or directly upward over tree trunks and large branches. In this climb-
ing movement they have many of the mannerisms of the brown
creepers (Certhia familiaris) of the North. Like that species, in
undulating flight from tree to tree where the forest growth is open,
they often dip down near the ground, and so are among the birds
caught regularly when mist nets are set. Only rarely have I heard
them give low calls.
The bill is strong and pointed, used regularly like that of a wood-
pecker, so that it is one of the species of the family that merited
the older common name of woodhewer. The nest of this species is
said to be in natural cavities. Russell (A.O.U. Orn. Mon., no. 1, 1964,
p. 103) quotes field notes of Morton Peck in British Honduras who
found one “‘in a shallow cavity in the base of a dead palm leaf... .
Two eggs were in the nest which was about 8 feet above the ground.”
Eisenmann (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 117, no. 5, 1952, p. 33) records
a nest with two grown young found July 12, 1949, on Barro Colorado
Island in a natural cavity.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 21
Stomachs that I have examined have held fragments of small
insects and spiders, and, in one instance, remains of seeds, apparently
from small berries or drupes. E. A. Goldman’s notes record one
pecking on a tree that, when a bit of bark fell, dropped after it and
caught it adroitly in the air.
There has been some confusion in an understanding of the races
represented through southern Central America and Colombia. Study
of the considerable series now available in the U.S. National Museum
indicates that three slightly marked subspecies may be recognized
within the geographical limits of Panama.
GLYPHORYNCHUS SPIRURUS SUBLESTUS Peters
Glyphorynchus spirurus sublestus Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zodl., vol. 69, Oc-
tober 1929, p. 443. (Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, Panama. )
Characters.—General coloration dark; darker, more reddish brown
above; darker below, with the throat more cinnamon-buff.
A male, taken on the Caribbean slope of Coclé, at the head of the
Rio Guabal, March 2, 1962, had the iris dark brown; maxilla and
tip of mandible black; base of mandible dark neutral gray; tarsus
dark brown; toes dark neutral gray; claws black. In a female, col-
lected near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 23, 1966, the iris
was dark reddish brown; maxilla fuscous-black, except the basal
third of the cutting edge, which was neutral gray ; mandible neutral
gray, changing to brownish gray at tip; tarsus and toes brownish
black ; claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (15 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Colon, and
northern Canal Zone), wing 70.2-78.0 (73.6), tail 63.5-74.6 (67.3,
average of 14), culmen from base 12.4-14.1 (13.4); tarsus 16.7-
17.8 (17.2) mm.
Females (16 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Colon, and Canal Zone),
wing 67.3-72.6 (70.2), tail 59.5-66.6 (62.7), culmen from base
12.0-14.0 (12.9), tarsus 16.4-17.5 (17.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forests on the Pacific slope in western
Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles, Santa Clara, El Volcan) from near the
sea to 1250 meters on mountain slopes; on the Caribbean side from
Costa Rica to the northern Canal Zone and Cerro Bruja in eastern
Colon; recorded to 1460 meters on the trail from Boquete to the
Chiriqui lagoon.
A set of two eggs in the U.S. National Museum was collected
May 26, 1892, by Charles W. Richmond (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus.,
vol. 16, 1893, pp. 497-498) near the Rio Escondido in southeastern
22 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Nicaragua. The nest ‘“‘was in a small, natural cavity at the foot of a
tree level with, if not below, the ground. The eggs, two in number
were pure white. Notwithstanding the fact that the eggs were
somewhat incubated the bird was engaged in carrying tufts of fine
roots to the nest at the time of its discovery.” One of the eggs in
form is short subelliptical; the other, somewhat broader, is almost
short oval. Both show only faint gloss. They measure as follows:
18.2 15.3, 19.1X15.7 mm. (The population of this species from
the Rio Escondido is intermediate between G. s. sublestus and G. s.
pectoralis but nearer the latter. )
Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 14, 1967, p. 16) records the size in
a set of two eggs in the British Museum (Natural History) as
19.6 12.7 and 20.312.7 mm. While the editor, Dr. Meise, has
listed them under the name sublestus he cites the range as “Costa
Rica bis W. Ecuador u. W. Venezuela” so that the subspecies from
this reference is not certain. Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969,
pp. 393-394) noted that the male and female share in incubation and
in the care of the young. Often as they changed in covering the eggs,
they brought small bits of material to add to the nest lining. The
young at hatching have long, dark gray down.
GLYPHORYNCHUS SPIRURUS PALLIDULUS Wetmore
Glyphorynchus [sic] spirurus pallidulus Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
vol. 82, February 5, 1970, p. 770. (Charco del Toro, Rio Majé, eastern
Province of Panama, Panama. )
Characters.—Similar in size to G. s. sublestus but paler in color;
more grayish olive on lower surface, with the back lighter, less
reddish brown, and the rump, tail, and wings more rufous-brown.
Measurements.—Males (17 from eastern provinces of Panama
and Colon, Darién, and San Blas), wing 71.7—75.5 (73.9), tail 62.8-
69.9 (66.6), culmen from base 12.3-14.2 (13.0), tarsus 16.5-17.8
(17.2) mm.
Females (20 from eastern Province of Panama, Darién, and San
Blas), wing 64.6-73.8 (69.5), tail 59.0-68.0 (62.6), culmen from
base 12.2-13.5 (12.9), tarsus 16.0-17.7 (16.7) mm.
Resident. On the Pacific slope through the eastern Province of
Panama including the Cerro Azul and the upper Chagres Valley, to
the Chucunaque-Tuira Valley and Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna ;
on the Caribbean side from southeastern Colon in the middle Chagres
Valley (head of the Rio Frijolito) east to near the Colombian
boundary in San Blas (Armila, Puerto Obaldia).
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 23
Beyond Panama it crosses into northern Colombia in the far
northern Choc6d on the eastern slope of Cerro Tacarcuna and near
Acandi on the western shore of the entrance into Golfo del Darién.
Beyond this area it merges with the darker, more olive, and slightly
smaller race subrufescens.
GLYPHORYNCHUS SPIRURUS SUBRUFESCENS Todd
Glyphorynchus spirurus subrufescens Todd, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 31, July
2, 1948, p. 14. (Potedo, Chocd, Colombia. )
Characters—Darker than G. s. sublestus, more olive on the upper
surface, including the crown.
Measurements.—Males (12 from western Colombia), wing 66.1—
71.8 (69.0), tail 57.4-64.0 (61.9), culmen from base 11.4-12.5
(12.1, average of 11), tarsus 16.3-17.1 (16.7) mm.
Females (13 from western Colombia), wing 63.5-69.5 (66.2),
tail 54.0-60.1 (57.4, average of 12), culmen from base 11.2-13.7
(12.1, average of 12), tarsus 15.8-16.7 (16.3) mm.
Resident. Recorded in the valley of the Rio Jaqué, southwestern
Darién.
The race is known from four females collected at Jaqué on
April 4 and 6, 1946, and at the mouth of the Imamado on the Rio
Jaqué March 30 and April 11, 1947. These have the following range
in measurements: wing 68.1—70.3, tail 58.4-63.8, culmen from base
12.3-12.9, tarsus 15.9-16.6 mm. In small size, dark coloration, and
more cinnamon-buff throat, they agree fully with subrufescens, here at
its northwestern limit. The race is found in Colombia from the
lower Atrato Valley in northern Choco (north to Acandi) and adja-
cent Antioquia (Villa Artiaga), south in western Colombia to
Narifio (probably to northwestern Ecuador. ).
XIPHOCOLAPTES PROMEROPIRHYNCHUS (Lesson):
Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Trepador Grande
Dendrocolaptes promeropirhynchus Lesson, Rev. Zool., vol. 3, September 1840,
p. 270. (Bogota, Colombia. )
A strong-bodied, robust bird, decidedly larger than other wood-
creepers found in the Republic; bill long and strong.
Description —Length 285-330 mm. Bill longer than head, deeper
than broad at the level of the nostrils. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck somewhat brownish black, lined with buff; back,
scapulars, and wing coverts brown, often with a slight olive cast;
24 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
upper back in some with narrow shaft lines of buff; rump and
upper tail coverts cinnamon-rufous; primaries and _ secondaries
rufous; tail chestnut to rufous-chestnut, with the shafts much
darker ; superciliary line streaked rather heavily with white, mixed
with blackish brown; auricular region buffy white, lined with
dark brown; malar region dark brown streaked with buff to buffy
white; chin and throat dull white, the throat lightly spotted and
indistinctly barred with dull brown; rest of under surface umber-
brown, with shaft lines of white to buff; abdomen grayer, barred
indistinctly with brownish black; under tail coverts light cinnamon;
under wing coverts cinnamon to buff, barred with black; under
surface of primaries and secondaries pale cinnamon to cinnamon-
rufous, the primaries tipped with dull gray.
This woodcreeper, largest of its family in Central America,
though found from southern México to Veraguas in western Panama,
is known principally from the record of specimens collected. In the
northern part of its range south to British Honduras it is recorded
from forests of pine. Farther south it is reported from areas of cloud
forest in the mountains. In common with its family relatives it has
the strong feet, with sharply pointed claws, and rather long tail
with stiffened tip, which serve it in climbing the trunks of trees.
Two geographic races are recognized in the Republic, differing in
depth of color.
XIPHOCOLAPTES PROMEROPIRHYNCHUS COSTARICENSIS
Ridgway
Xiphocolaptes emigrans costaricensis Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 11,
September 20, 1889, p. 541. (Naranjo de Cartago, Costa Rica. )
Characters—Duller in color; more olive, less rufescent brown.
A male in the American Museum of Natural History, collected
by Austin Paul Smith, at Aquiares on the slopes of Volcan Turrialba,
has the following data on the label: “iris reddish brown, bill horn
color, tarsus dark olive.”” The claws in the dried skin are distinctly
reddish brown.
In specimens in the British Museum (Natural History) collected
in Costa Rica by C. H. Lankester, the label of a male from Juan
Vifias has the iris listed as ‘‘chestnut, bill olive horn, feet olive.”
A female from Cachi has these data marked as “iris red brown, bill
olive horn, feet olive.”
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 25
128.8-143.8 (134.4, average of 9), tail 106.0-122.9 (114.4) culmen
from base 50.1-54.7 (52.1), tarsus 32.2-34.8 (33.6) mm.
Females (5 from Costa Rica), wing 127.3-136.5 (132.1), tail
111.4-119.8 (115.6), culmen from base 47.5-56.3 (52.3), tarsus
33.0-35.5 (33.9) mm.
Status uncertain ; known from a single record.
One in the American Museum of Natural History, received in
the Rothschild collection, originally in the Museo Dalmas, is labeled
Miramar, 1100 meters, Chiriqui, taken by Antonio Lara, September
1897. The collector is not known to me, nor is the locality (which
may have been on the southern slopes of the volcano in the Boquete
area). The specimen agrees in coloration with the race of Costa
Rica.
According to Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
p. 198) in Costa Rica this race is found rarely in the wetter forest
areas “along the northern and eastern sides of the Cordillera
Central, and at the headwaters of the Rio Reventazon adjacent to
the northern end of Talamanca Cordillera.”
XIPHOCOLAPTES PROMEROPIRHYNCHUS PANAMENSIS
Griscom
Xiphocolaptes emigrans panamensis Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 7. (Above Chitra (1100 meters), Veraguas, Panama.)
Characters —Darker, more rufescent brown.
Measurements—Male (1 from Veraguas; type), wing 135.3, tail
117.5, culmen from base 48.5, tarsus 32.0 mm.
Females (4 from Veraguas), wing 127.7-134.8 (132.2), tail 101.8-
112.1 (110.2), culmen from base 51.2-53.9 (51.7), tarsus 31.8-33.5
(32.2) mm.
Resident. Rare, recorded near Chitra, Veraguas.
The race was described from a male and four females collected
by R. R. Benson in January 1926, at elevations of 900 to 1100 meters.
The specimens, in the American Museum of Natural History, are
alike in their dark coloration, in which they differ definitely from
the grayer race of Costa Rica.
DENDROCOLAPTES CERTHIA (Boddaert): Barred Woodcreeper,
Trepador Barreteado
Figure 3
Picus certhia Boddaert, Table Planch. enlum., 1783, p. 38. (Cayenne).
Size medium ; brown, finely cross-barred with black on head, back,
and under surface.
26 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description —Length 250-280 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck bright or dull cinnamon-rufous, narrowly barred with
black; back, middle and lesser wing coverts olive-brown, barred
narrowly with black; rump, upper tail coverts and wings rufous;
y
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.
Z
VAN
i
yy
YY
Figure 3.—Barred woodcreeper, trepador barreteado, Dendrocolaptes certhia
nigrirostris.
tail rufous to chestnut with the shaft lines brownish black; chin and
upper throat dull grayish; side of head, entire lower surface, and
under wing coverts buff to cinnamon-buff, narrowly cross-barred
with black; under surface of wings cinnamon-brown, with inner
webs of outer primaries grayish brown to dusky.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 27
Juvenile, like adult but markings less definite and under tail
coverts brighter rufous.
These are true birds of the forest, quiet and retiring in habit, that
are found most often moving over raiding ant swarms. Here they
come low down in the undergrowth to capture insect prey flushed by
the ants, and then retire to higher perches on nearby tree trunks.
Often they are seen alone, less frequently two together. At other
times single individuals have come when I have been calling in forest
cover to attract the smaller birds. In their foraging away from
ant swarms they normally rest low down on a tree trunk and then
climb slowly upward, with movement and posture that of a wood-
pecker, as they cling with strong feet and braced tail to the bark. Their
search is for small insects and spiders, occasionally uncovered by
scaling off projecting fragments of bark, or found in growths of moss
or epiphytes. The upward climb may be continued out on larger
branches, when the bird loops down to another low perch on a trunk.
Stomachs examined have held fragments of beetles, hemiptera,
and spiders.
Usually they are quiet birds from which I have heard only low
chattering calls. Dr. Thomas R. Howell (Condor, 1957, p. 87)
collected a male in breeding condition on July 9, 1954, at El Recreo,
Nicaragua, that “uttered scolding notes and loud song . . . téw-wee,
téw-wee.”” This individual also had a brood patch. I have seen
nothing more regarding their breeding, except that they are believed
to place their nests in natural cavities in trees.
In its widespread range in the forests of Central America from
southern México through Panama the species shows slight geo-
graphic variation, which is masked in part by color changes due to
foxing in the older examples in museum collections. In the con-
siderable series that I have examined, including both fresh and
older material, I have found that (except for a limited area in
Quintana Roo) those from southern Veracruz south through Hon-
duras (to the Rio Coco on the southern boundary) are slightly paler
buff on the lower surface, and somewhat less heavily barred with
black on the back. These may be separated as D. c. sancti-thomae.
In southwestern Costa Rica in the Rio Térraba Valley and the
Golfo Dulce area, and on the base of the Burica Peninsula in far
southwestern Province of Chiriqui, Panama, the barring on the
under surface and crown is narrower, and the buff duller. This is
the race hesperius described by Bangs. With this exception, through
Costa Rica and all of Panama birds are brighter, more pale cinnamon-
28 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
buff below, and more rufous on the crown, with the black barring
averaging very slightly heavier and wider. The back also is some-
what more heavily barred. These are D. c. nigrirostris Todd. It
should be noted that the supposed character of blacker bill for this
race does not hold. This form extends into Colombia to Unguia and
Acandi, on the western shore of the Gulf of Uraba, and east through
the valley of the Rio Sinu, and beyond to Coloso in northwestern
Bolivar. D. c. colombianus Todd found on the Pacific slope from
north central Choco south to the Rio San Juan is definitely darker
above and below, and duller rufous on the crown. In the area west
of the lower Rio Atrato it intergrades with nigrirostris, Todd’s type
material being from this intermediate stock. Two additional forms
of limited range in México that have been described may be men-
tioned to make this survey complete. The subspecies legtersi Paynter,
of limited range in central Quintana Roo is paler above and below
than sancti-thomae. The race sheffleri Binford of southern Oaxaca
has the black bars on the lower surface narrower, with corresponding
increase in the buff so that the birds appear paler. The bill also is
light colored, both above and below, in contrast to the darker color
found in the other races.
As indicated, two subspecies are found in Panama.
DENDROCOLAPTES CERTHIA HESPERIUS Bangs
Dendrocolaptes sancti-thomae hesperius Bangs, Auk, vol. 24, July 1907, p. 299.
(Lagarto, Costa Rica.)
Characters—Dark bars on lower surface narrower, with buff
interspaces duller ; crown also duller buff, and more narrowly barred.
A female, collected near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 12,
1966, had the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black;
base of mandible fuscous-brown; cutting edge of maxilla and of
mandible for basal half, and the gonys pale brownish white; tarsus
and toes dull grayish green ; claws dull slate.
Measurements.——Males (10 from Costa Rica), wing 121.0-130.1
(125.4), tail 107.9-121.8 (114.2), culmen from base 39.2-42.3
(40.7), tarsus 28.2-29.6 (28.8) mm.
Females (8 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 122.0-127.8
(124.8), tail 110.1-119.2 (113.3), culmen from base 38.3-42.6
(39.9), tarsus 26.7-30.6 (28.9) mm.
Resident. Known in Panama from the base of the Burica Peninsula,
and Bugaba in southwestern Chiriqui.
The race ranges mainly in southwestern Costa Rica in the valley of
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 29
the Rio Térraba (Diquis) and the Golfo Dulce area. It is known at
present in Panama from two records, one the female described above,
taken in forest at Olivo, 10 kilometers northeast of Puerto Armuelles.
This, the only one seen during several weeks of field work in this
area, was clinging in the usual woodpecker-fashion to a tree trunk.
Another female in the British Museum, from Bugaba, Chiriqui,
collected by Arcé in 1869, compared to D. c. nigrirostris, has the
buff of the under surface duller, and the black banding faintly nar-
rower. While not wholly typical, it appears nearer hesperius, pos-
sibly from an area where the two forms concerned begin to inter-
grade.
DENDROCOLAPTES CERTHIA NIGRIROSTRIS Todd
Dendrocolaptes certhia nigrirostris Todd, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci. vol. 40,
no. 7, July 15, 1950, p. 237. (El Hogar, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Brighter, more cinnamon-buff below ; more rufous on
the crown; black bars heavier, wider throughout; back more heavily
barred.
A female taken at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 17, 1961, had
the iris wood-brown; maxilla black; base of gonys and gape light
wood brown; rest of mandible dusky neutral gray; tarsus fuscous ;
toes greenish gray; claws dusky neutral gray. Another of the same
sex at El Real, Darién, January 25, 1964, had the iris very dark
brown; tip of maxilla and basal half of cutting edge of maxilla and
mandible dull ivory-white ; central line of gonys fuscous; rest of bill
black; tarsus and toes dull greenish gray; claws fuscous.
Measurements—Males (10 from Panama) wing 125.4-134.7
(129.9), tail 111.5-124.5 (117.7), culmen from base 38.5-41.9 (40.3),
tarsus 28.1—30.8 (29.2) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 122.7-128.8 (125.3), tail
106.8-119.8 (112.2), culmen from base 38.3-42.4 (39.8) tarsus 27.8-
30.8 (29.1) mm.
Weight of one male 71 grams ( Koford).
Resident. Fairly common throughout lowland forests from
Chiriqui (except the Burica Peninsula) east through Darién and San
Blas ; casually in the mountains to 740 meters on the Rio Changuena,
Bocas del Toro, and to 1060 meters on Cerro Pirre, Darién.
One taken at Cana on Cerro Pirre had the stomach filled with
fragments of cicadas, mixed with a few bits of small beetles.
It is found regularly in the northern Canal Zone near Gamboa and
30 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Juan Mina. E. S. Norton collected one on Cerro Azul, December 10,
1965.
DENDROCOLAPTES PICUMNUS Lichtenstein: Black-banded
Woodcreeper, Trepador Rayado
Dendrocolaptes Picumnus Lichtenstein, Abhandl. Kon. Akad. Wiss. Berlin for
1818-1819, Phys. K1., 1820, p. 202. (Cayenne. )
Similar to the Barred Woodcreeper, Dendrocolaptes certhia, but
with crown, side of head and neck, and foreneck streaked with pale
buff to buffy white.
Description —Length 240-260 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck grayish brown, with narrow shaft lines of buffy
white ; back, scapulars, and wing coverts olive-brown, the upper back
usually with shaft lines of buffy white; rump and upper tail coverts
cinnamon-rufous; secondaries and inner primaries similar, but
darker; outer webs of outer primaries olive-brown; tail chestnut,
with the shafts much darker; side of head blackish brown, streaked
with white or buffy white; chin and throat white to clay color, the
feathers edged with brown; lower foreneck olive-brown to grayish
brown streaked with buff, these streaks lined narrowly on either side
with black ; rest of under surface buffy brown, barred narrowly with
black; the streaking lighter on tibiae and flanks; under tail coverts
varying from the paler hue of the abdomen to cinnamon; under wing
coverts cinnamon-buff, barred with black; under surface of primaries
and secondaries light cinnamon-rufous, tips of the primaries dusky
gray.
The species is widely distributed from Guatemala and Honduras
through Central America and South America to northern Argentina,
Paraguay, and Brazil. Two geographic races may be recognized in
Panama.
Little is known of the life of these birds except that their tree-
climbing habits are typical of the family. Sclater and Salvin (Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 523) cite a note from Salmon made in
Antioquia, northwestern Colombia, that the nest “is made in a hole
in a tree, and the number of eggs two.” The two eggs in the set
collected, now in the British Museum, identified as Dendrocolaptes
picumnus multistrigatus, a form slightly larger than those found in
Panama, are white and measure 29.2 x 21.6 mm.
DENDROCOLAPTES PICUMNUS COSTARICENSIS Ridgway
Dendrocolaptes validus costaricensis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol.
22, April 17, 1909, p. 73. (Laguaria, Santa Maria de Dota, Costa Rica.)
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 31
Characters.—Paler brown above and below; wings and tail slightly
paler than in D. p. veraguensts.
In two males in the British Museum taken at Cachi, Costa Rica,
by C. H. Lankester, the collector noted in one the following colors:
“iris brown; bill between horn and bluish horn, feet olivaceous,” and
in the other, “‘iris hazel, bill horn, feet olivaceous.”’
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica), wing 120.5-130.2
(126.3), tail 113.4-130.8 (117.2), culmen from base 35.1-38.2
(36.0), tarsus 27.4-29.0 (28.0) mm.
Females (6 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 120.5-125.6
(123.0), tail 107.2-118.0 (113.9), culmen from base 32.9-38.2
(36.3), tarsus 27.5-29.0 (27.9 )mm.
Resident. Rare. Recorded from the Boquete region, western
Chiriqui.
The first report is that of Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer.
Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 191) who listed a skin in their collection “said
to be from Panama.” This specimen now is in the British Museum
(Natural History). W. W. Brown, Jr., collected a female at about
2100 meters elevation above Boquete in April 1901, recorded by
Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 48). There
is also a female in the American Museum of Natural History taken
by H. J. Watson at 1825 meters above Boquete on May 6, 1903.
These are the records to date from the Republic.
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 199) says
of this race in Costa Rica that it is “restricted to wet forest at cool
temperatures. It seems to keep higher in the trees than most wood-
hewers . . . and is met singly and seldom. It replaces at higher
altitudes the congeneric certhia of the tropical and lower subtropical
belts.” Boucard (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 60), who col-
lected male and female at Naranjo, Costa Rica, in April 1877, says
of them that they “were on the same tree . . . busily engaged in
building their nest in a hole of the trunk.”
DENDROCOLAPTES PICUMNUS VERAGUENSIS Griscom
Dendrocolaptes picumnus veraguensis Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no.. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 9. (Chitra, Veraguas, Panama. )
Characters ——Darker, more reddish brown on back; wings and
tail darker, more chocolate-brown; darker, more cinnamon-buff on
under surface, including the under surfaces of the wings.
Measurements——Males (4 from Veraguas), wing 123.0-126.8
32 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
(124.8), tail 111.2-117.1 (114.4), culmen from base 37.2-38.1
(37.5, average of 3), tarsus 27.0-27.5 (27.2) mm.
Female (1 from Veraguas), wing 117.6, tail 108.9, culmen from
base 35.9, tarsus 27.8 mm.
Resident. Rare, little known; recorded from the highlands of
Veraguas.
In addition to three males in the American Museum of Natural
History, collected by Benson near Chitra, January 25, and March 11
and 12, 1926, at elevations ranging from 1060 to 1220 meters,
Griscom in the original description had available a female received
from J. H. Batty, also labeled Chitra with the date April 17, 1901.
Another specimen is a male in the U.S. National Museum received
from Heyde and Lux, labeled “Capira, Isth. Panama,” dated April
21, 1888, and marked “found: open, high forest.” The bird agrees
in color with the series in New York, but the locality is questionable.
Capira is in the level lowlands of the western sector of the Province
of Panama, where this woodcreeper would not be found. It is
possible that the specimen was taken at Chitra, where the bird is
known, a point visited by the men concerned in June and July 1889.
Salvin and Godman (Biol .Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 191)
mention one “said to be from Panama,’ a bird now in the British
Museum. It is an example of the race veraguensis, but without
indication of definite locality, date, or sex.
DENDROPLEX PICUS EXTIMUS Griscom: Straight-billed
Woodcreeper, Trepador Piquirecto
Dendroplex picirostris extimus Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, September
10, 1927, p. 6. (Aguadulce, Coclé, Panama.)
Foreneck pale buffy white; bill straight, the tip or entire length
light colored.
Description —Length 190-215 mm. Bill straight, tip of maxilla not
decurved. Adult (sexes alike), crown fuscous to blackish brown,
marked with narrow elongated spots of pale dull buffy white, chang-
ing to broader streaks edged narrowly with black on the hindneck ;
upper back dull snuff brown; lower back, rump, and upper tail
coverts tawny-brown; wings cinnamon-brown tipped with fuscous;
wing coverts duller, more olive; tail cinnamon-brown; superciliary
white, with the feathers edged with dusky; side of head dull white;
throat and upper foreneck white to pale buffy white, edged narrowly
on lower foreneck and upper breast with black, the light streaks
narrower and more linear on breast ; abdomen and sides faintly dull
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 33
buffy brown; under tail coverts with shaft lines of dull buff; under
surface of wing, except at tip, cinnamon-brown; under wing coverts
buff, changing to light buff on edge of wing.
A male, taken at Aguadulce, Coclé, January 18, 1963, had the
iris reddish brown; base of maxilla to slightly beyond nostril dark
mouse brown; rest pale mouse brown; mandible flesh color; tarsus
and toes neutral gray; claws dark neutral gray; under side of toes
very dull honey yellow. A female from La Jagua, Panama, January
12, 1962, had the iris light chocolate brown; tip and base of culmen
mouse brown; rest of bill whitish flesh color; tarsus and toes
greenish neutral gray; claws mouse brown; pads on under surface
of the toes dull greenish yellow.
Measurements——Males (22 from Panama), wing 95.4-104.1
(100.3), tail 73.7-89.5 (81.8), culmen from base 27.8-32.5 (29.4),
tarsus 21.2—23.2 (22.1) mm.
Females (18 from Panama), wing 93.5-99.8 (96.6), tail 71.9-82.3
(78.2), culmen from base 27.8-31.9 (29.8), tarsus 21.2—23.4
(22.2) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common near the sea on the Pacific slope
from Los Santos (Tonosi, Pedasi) and Herrera (Rio Santa Maria,
Monagrillo) on the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula, through
Coclé (Aguadulce), the eastern and western segments of the Prov-
ince of Panama (Bejuco, Rio Juan Diaz, La Jagua, Chiman, Majé)
and the Canal Zone (Miraflores Locks), to Darién (Garachiné).
This bird was reported first in Panama by Hallinan (Auk, 1924,
p. 319) from one that he collected October 3, 1915, near the mouth
of the Rio Juan Diaz, east of Panama City. The next records were
of three taken by R. R. Benson near Aguadulce, Coclé, in September
1925, the series from which Griscom named the race. The Fifth
George Vanderbilt Expedition in 1941 collected one near Garachiné,
Darién (Bond and de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
Mem. 6, 1944, p. 35) which to date is the only specimen record for
that province.
The report by Chapman from Barro Colorado Island (Tropical Air
Castle, 1929, p. 405; Life in Air Castle, 1938, p. 235) under the name
Dendroplex picus “panamensis” (a nomen nudum) probably refers
to observations he made during a visit to La Jagua in company with
Karl Curtis, as this woodhewer is not known in the Canal Zone north
of the Miraflores Locks.
After field experience with several races of this species in northern
South America where I saw them in partly wooded pastures, dry
34 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
scrub, and open gallery forest, it was unexpected to find the race
of Panama mainly near the inland border of mangrove swamps.
Along the lower Rio Santa Maria in northern Herrera, a short
distance inland from the sea, they were fairly common in trees stand-
ing in open formation in pastures, and at the La Jagua Hunting
Club east of Pacora they followed the wooded border of the swamp
inland for 3 to 5 kilometers. Elsewhere they were seen only in the
mangroves or immediately adjacent.
In general appearance and habits they resemble Xiphorhynchus
guttatus, but at rest are easily identified by the light-colored bill, and
in flight they appear more reddish brown. In open areas they climbed
about rather quietly on the main trunks and larger limbs. In the
mangroves they seemed more active as they came out on the smaller
branches to inspect and probe dead or curling leaves. Their rattling
calls, heard infrequently, are like those I have heard from other
members of the species in Colombia and Venezuela.
No account of the nest and eggs has come to my attention. Meise
(in Schonwetter, Hand. Ool., pt. 14, 1967, p. 17), gives measure-
ments of eggs of the nominate race picus of northern South America
(under the generic name Xiphorhynchus) as 24.0-26.6 x 19.1-
19.9 mm.
Recently this species has been listed in the genus Xiphorhynchus,
which it closely resembles in general aspect. The bill, however, differs
in being straight and slender to the tip, and from limited material
that I have examined, characters in the skull differ also in detail.
The bill character especially appears uniform through the wide
range of the species in which it is found. The two should be main-
tained as distinct groups.
XIPHORHYNCHUS GUTTATUS (Lichtenstein) : Buff-throated
Woodcreeper, Trepador Comtn
Dendrocolaptes guttatus Lichtenstein, Abhandl. Kon. Akad. Wiss. Berlin for
1818-1819, Phys. K1., 1820, p. 201. (Province of Bahia, Brazil.)
Distinguished from species with similar color pattern by larger
size, stronger, heavier bill, and more robust form.
Description —Length 215-235 mm. Male and female alike; crown
and nape dull black, each feather with a subterminal tear-shaped
spot of pale to deep buff ; back and wing coverts buffy olive to olive-
brown, with a few elongate central streaks of buff, bordered nar-
rowly with black; primaries, secondaries, rump, and tail bright
chestnut-brown; throat dull white to cinnamon-buff; rest of under
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 35
surface dull buffy brown, with lower foreneck, breast, and sides
streaked heavily with buffy white or cinnamon-buff, bordered nar-
rowly with black, these markings becoming fainter on lower breast
and abdomen.
Immature (marked by the black mandible), darker, more olive
than adults.
This is the most common member of its family, found widely
throughout the lowlands wherever there is tree growth, from the
dense forests of Bocas del Toro and Darién, to the lines of trees
that border streams and the landward edge of mangrove swamps
in the savanna areas. In ascending the slopes of the mountains they
are found regularly to 300 meters, but above are less common. Near
El Valle and on Cerro Pirre a few range to 600 meters elevation.
While usually found alone, individuals may travel with the groups
of small birds that range in company through the forest, and oc-
casionally join the other gatherings that forage over the traveling
ant swarms. Once, on the Rio Tuira in Darién, I saw one in com-
pany with another individual of the same genus, but of another
species, Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus, the two moving about near
one another.
Usually these woodcreepers are tame, and often show considerable
curiosity, as when I have been moving quietly through the under-
growth it has been common to have one fly down to peer at me near
at hand. In feeding they climb from near the ground up the tree
trunks to the higher branches in the leaf crown. Like woodpeckers
they cling with sharp claws, the stiffened tail braced against the
bark, and hitch slowly up the vertical trunks and along inclined
limbs. They pass easily along the underside of horizontal branches,
and frequently remain for some time back down in such locations.
With the strong bill they search in crevices, probe in moss and
epiphytes, and occasionally with a quick blow knock off a flake of
bark. Their movement in search is nearly always upward. While
they do not hammer as steadily as do woodpeckers, they use the bill
as a pick sufficiently so that the older appellation of ‘“wood-hewer’”’
was not a misnomer. Their food is taken from the miscellaneous
insects encountered. Stomachs that I have examined have held
Tenebrionids, Cerambycids, Elaterids, and Curculionids among
beetles, roach egg cases, cicadas, earwigs, skins of caterpillars, and,
in one, bits of a small lizard.
Their call is a rapid repetition of a note that rises in pitch and
then falls, a laughing sound usually given behind cover with the
36 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
author hidden, so that there is often difficulty in tracing it to the
source. The birds are vociferous in early morning and late evening,
their notes being one of the especially pleasing jungle sounds.
For so common a species little is known regarding its breeding
except that it nests in holes and that its eggs are white.
The usual country name is subtpalo, though occasionally they are
called pega pega.
The species is one of wide range from Guatemala and Honduras
south through the forested areas of the Tropical Zone to eastern
Bolivia and south-central Brazil. The range of individual variation
in color is considerable, with fully grown immature birds being
always darker than adults. Three slightly marked subspecies may
be recognized in the Republic. In examination of study skins it
should be kept in mind that the buff tints of the lower surface fade
appreciably with passage of years even though carefully protected
in museum cases. A series collected by E. A. Goldman in 1911 in
the lower Chagres Valley differ more from those I have taken in
the same area in the past 15 years than do fresh specimens of the
three races here recognized.
XIPHORHYNCHUS GUTTATUS COSTARICENSIS (Ridgway)
Dendrornis lawrencei costaricensis Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 10,
August 6, 1888, p. 510. (Tucurriqui, Cartago, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Darker ; somewhat deeper reddish brown on back and
rump; slightly more olive in the darker hues of the lower surface;
streaking above and below somewhat reduced.
A breeding male taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 19,
1966, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; mandible light neutral
gray ; tarsus, toes, and claws brownish gray.
Measurements.—Males (18 from Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, and Panama), wing 100.0-108.5 (105.2), tail 82.0-96.8 (88.9),
culmen from base 35.6-39.6 (37.6), tarsus 22.5-23.9 (23.1) mm.
Females (10 from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama), wing
92.0-99.6 (95.7), tail 76.7-83.7 (80.5, average of 9), culmen from
base 30.4-39.5 (35.7), tarsus 21.3-23.5 (22.5) mm.
Range.—Pacific slope in western Chiriqui; Caribbean slope from
the Costa Rican boundary in Bocas del Toro to western Colén.
In southwestern Chiriqui in 1966 I found this race fairly common
near Puerto Armuelles. Earlier, specimens were taken by W. W.
Brown at Divala in November and December 1900. The bird has
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 37
been recorded at numerous localities in western Bocas del Toro.
Specimens from the hill country near El Uracillo, Coclé, on the upper
Rio Indio, agree with the series from farther west. Skins from
lower down this valley near the mouth of the stream appear slightly
intermediate toward nanus.
XIPHORHYNCHUS GUTTATUS MARGINATUS Griscom
Xiphorhynchus guttatus marginatus Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 7 (Santa Fé, Veraguas. )
Characters——Darker above and below, with the wings and tail
more chestnut than in the races costaricensis and nanus; chin and
throat more cinnamon-buff.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Veraguas), wing
100.5-111.5 (107.4), tail 81.0-93.0 (88.5), culmen from base 33.8-
38.8 (37.4, average of 9), tarsus 23.1-24.0 (23.4) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Veraguas), wing 93.4-100.0 (97.4),
tail 78.8-89.0 (82.9, average of 9), culmen from base 34.1-38.4
(36.6), tarsus 22.2-23.5 (23.0) mm.
Range.—Pacific slope in eastern Chiriqui and Veraguas east to
the forests of the western side of the Azuero Peninsula.
A male taken May 19, 1953, near Sona, Veraguas, was in breeding
condition, and on May 29 I found grown juveniles at Puerto Vidal.
XIPHORHYNCHUS GUTTATUS NANUS (Lawrence)
Dendrornis nana Lawrence, Ibis, ser. 1, vol. 5, no. 18, April 1863, p. 181.
(Isthmus of Panama, type locality here restricted to near Gatun, Canal Zone.)
Dendrornis lawrencei Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 10, August 6, 1888,
p. 509. (Panama. )
Characters.—Throat paler buff as in costaricensis, but lighter,
less olive on lower surface; rump lighter reddish brown; definitely
lighter in color than marginatus.
A male, collected at La Jagua, Panama, January 12, 1962, had the
iris wood brown; maxilla dull black; mandible light neutral gray,
darker at tip and on the sides of the rami; tarsus and toes dark
neutral gray ; claws darker, nearly black.
Measurements.—Males (16 specimens), wing 100.8-109.9 (105.9),
tail 81.0-97.2 (87.1), culmen from base 35.9-40.5 (38.3), tarsus
22.5-23.8 (23.3) mm.
Females (16 specimens) wing 93.5-100.5 (97.8), tail 73.6-86.1
(80.3), culmen from base 34.4-40.1 (36.2), tarsus 22.0-23.3
(22.7) mm.
38 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Range.—Pacific slope from the eastern side of the Azuero
Peninsula east through the lowlands to eastern Darién; Caribbean
slope from the lower Rio Chagres Valley through eastern Coldén to
extreme western Comarca de San Blas (Puerto Obaldia) ; inter-
grades with X. g. costaricensis in western Colon.
In the original description Lawrence stated merely that his type
specimen, collected by McLeannan, came from the “Isthmus of
Panama.” This collector, who worked near the Frijoles and Lion
Hill stations, is known to have taken birds mainly on the Caribbean
slope near the place last mentioned. The type locality is here
designated as near Gatun, since Lion Hill, less than 4 miles distant,
is now submerged in Gatun Lake. The type specimen, in the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History, does not have the sex indicated,
but from its size (wing 91.4 mm.) appears to be a female.
On Barro Colorado Island, Chapman (Life in an Air Castle, 1938,
pp. 35-36) found a nest on April 14, 1937, beneath the elevated
floor of one of the buildings. The birds carried in over 7000
small fragments of bark and dead wood for nesting material, and
in a slight depression laid two white eggs. Another nest was found
in May 1935 in a hole in a papaya. Goldman records a male taken
May 30, 1911, near Portobelo, as breeding. On March 4, 1968, at La
Jagua, Eisenmann and Ridgely recorded a mated pair at a nesting hole
in a dead tree.
Beyond Darién this race ranges widely in northern Colombia from
northern Choco east through the Sint, Cauca, and Magdalena valleys
to western Guajira.
XIPHORHYNCHUS LACHRYMOSUS LACHRYMOSUS
(Lawrence): Black-striped Woodcreeper, Trepador Listado
FIGURE 4
Dendrornis lachrymosus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1862, p. 467. (Loma del Leon, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Large; heavily lined with black and buffy white above and below on
the fore part of the body.
Description—Length 215-245 mm. Adult feaes alike), crown,
hindneck, upper back, and scapulars black, each feather with an
elongate central streak of buff, the streaking broader and deeper
buff on the back; rump and upper tail coverts cinnamon-rufous ;
wings cinnamon-rufous tipped with dusky; inner wing coverts
cinnamon-rufous edged with black; tail chestnut; side of head
buffy white streaked with brownish black; chin and throat buff;
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 39
foreneck, breast, and sides, including sides of abdomen, buff, with the
feathers margined broadly with brownish black; flanks and center of
abdomen, grayish brown; under tail coverts buffy brown with the
centers broadly buff; under wing coverts ochraceous-buff.
A male, taken at the head of the Rio Guabal, northern Coclé,
Figure 4.—Black-striped woodcreeper, trepador listado, Xiphorhynchus
lachrymosus lachrymosus.
March 2, 1962, had the iris dark reddish brown; maxilla, except
base of cutting edge, fuscous-black; cutting edge at base light
brownish white; mandible neutral gray with a greenish cast; claws
black. A female at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 16, 1966,
had the iris Verona brown; maxilla fuscous-black; mandible pale
neutral gray ; tarsus greenish gray ; toes dark gray ; claws dark neutral
gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from eastern Province of Panama),
40 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
wing 119.8-125.6 (122.2), tail 85.8-96.5 (91.2), culmen from base
38.4-40.5 (39.4), tarsus 23.0-24.8 (24.1) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama), wing 112.0-118.7
(115.3), tail 82.9-90.5 (87.2), culmen from base 34.9-39.6 (37.5),
tarsus 22.8-24.0 (23.3) mm.
Resident. Common in Tropical Zone forests; on the Pacific side
from western Chiriqui and Veraguas (Santa Fé), eastward in suit-
able terrain through Darién; on the Caribbean side from the Rio
Sixaola on the Costa Rican boundary, through Bocas del Toro and
northern Veraguas (Rio Calovévora), northern Coclé (head of Rio
Guabal), and the Canal Zone, to Puerto Obaldia, San Blas; to 750
meters on Cerro Azul, 600 meters on Cerro Pirre, and 575 meters on
Cerro Tacarcuna.
On the Pacific slope it has been reported frequently in western
Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles, Divala, Bugaba, Bibalaz). Salvin
(Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 144) recorded a specimen in
collections received from Arcé from ‘“‘Santiago de Veragua.” The
bird, dated 1864, marked as a male but with no other data except
the locality, is now in the British Museum. The locality may be
open to question, as this is the only record for this lowland area. In
recent years it has been noted from Barro Colorado Island, near
Gamboa, Pifia, and on Cerro Azul.
These are strong-bodied birds, distinctly more robust than the
buff-throated woodcreeper of the same genus, in life as well as when
in the hand. They are definitely birds of the forest, seen mainly on
tree trunks and larger branches, most commonly high above the
ground, though regularly lower down. Occasionally they range in
the shoreward margin of tall mangroves. In climbing they move
steadily upward, usually jerkily in rather long hitches, often with the
feet widely apart and the body swinging from side to side. As they
advance, they peck at the bark, pull off dry scales, and examine
bits of moss to peer quickly underneath. I have seen them searching
over old wasp nests, and rarely flying out a meter or so to capture an
insect on the wing. Once, one picked some object from a dead tree
trunk, tossed it up in the air, caught it expertly, and then swallowed
it. Usually they range alone, but rarely may move about in company
with scattered bands of smaller forest birds. Stomachs that I have
examined have held broken bits of small beetles, orthoptera, ants,
hemiptera, moths, and spiders.
The call is a repetition of a single rather high-pitched note, a
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE AI
laughing sound like that of the other common large woodcreeper of
this genus found in Panama, but usually shorter, as well as more
pleasingly musical in sound. Apparently the Cuna Indian name of
Yejejé, heard in 1947 on the upper Rio Jaqué, is given in imitation.
This typical race of the species is found to the north through
Costa Rica to eastern Nicaragua. To the south of Panama it con-
tinues in Colombia through the lower Atrato Valley and along the
western base of the Cordillera Occidental to northwestern Ecuador.
XIPHORHYNCHUS ERYTHROPYGIA (Sclater): Spotted
Woodcreeper, Trepador Manchado
Dendrornis erythropygia P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27, 1859
(February 1860), p. 366. (Jalapa, Veracruz, México.)
Medium size; under surface spotted heavily with buff.
Description—Length 210-230 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck, especially the fore crown, with narrow shaft lines of
pale buff; back and scapulars olive-brown, with scattered narrow
shaft lines of pale buff; wing coverts olive-brown; rump and upper
tail coverts cinnamon-rufous; wings and tail cinnamon-rufous, sec-
ondaries darker, more chocolate, and primaries edged and tipped with
olive-brown; lores dusky to black; an indistinct buffy superciliary ;
side of head dusky-olive spotted and lined more or less with buff; an
indefinite buff eye-ring; chin and throat buff, spotted lightly with
olive; foreneck, breast, and abdomen somewhat greenish olive,
marked heavily with guttate spots of pale buff; lower under tail
coverts dull cinnamon, with central lines of buff; under wing coverts
and under surface of primaries at base cinnamon-buff.
Throughout the range from southern México to northern Colombia,
and along the western coast of South America to western Ecuador,
five geographic races are recognized, all on minor characters of slight
difference in size, or equally minor distinctions in depth of color.
It should be noted also that in museum collections specimens become
steadily darker with the markings duller, so that close attention is
required to separate the races.
Xiphorhynchus triangularis found in the Andes from Colombia to
Bolivia, ranging east in the sierras of northern and western
Venezuela, included by some under erythropygia, differs in having the
feathers of the chin and throat tipped narrowly with greenish olive
instead of spotted lightly with this color. In most also the under
tail coverts are without cinnamon or with color reduced to show
42 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
only the tips of the distal feathers. When the two groups overlap
as on the mountain slopes of northwestern Antioquia (near Val-
divia), erythropygia ranges lower in the tropical and lower subtropi-
cal slopes, with triangularis higher in the upper Subtropical Zone.
While widely distributed through forested areas, these birds
usually range high in the trees and so may come only casually under
observation. Their habits in general are like those of allied species of
the genus, but through their dull colors and rather indefinite color
pattern they do not stand out prominently, and so do not attract
attention. Occasionally several may be found associated in loose
company. Once I found one in company with a group of the Yellow-
browed Tanager Chlorothraupis olivacea. Their laughing calls
are similar to those of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper but are higher
in sound. The breeding season seems to come in April when males
become quite noisy.
Two subspecies, differing slightly in color, are recognized in
the Republic, one in the west, the other found from the Canal Zone
through Darieén.
XIPHORHYNCHUS ERYTHROPYGIA PUNCTIGULA Sclater
Dendrornis punctigula, Ridgw. MS, P. L. Sclater, Ibis, ser. 6, vol. 1, no. 3, July,
1889, p. 352. (“Costa Rica” = Naranjo, Costa Rica.)
Dendrornis punctigula Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 11, September 20,
1889, p. 544. (Naranjo, Costa Rica. )
Characters ——Lower surface more distinctly greenish olive.
A female, taken near El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 15, 1965, had
the iris dark brown; base of maxilla below nasal fossa, and cutting
edge along anterior margin very pale brownish white; rest of basal
half dull black; anterior half dark mouse brown; mandible very light
neutral gray ; tarsus and toes neutral bluish gray; claws dull grayish
brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica and Chiriqui), wing
103.0-119.3 (112.1), tail 84.7-98.0 (92.4), culmen from base 33.2-
36.3 (33.5), tarsus 22.5-24.2 (23.4) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica and Chiriqui), wing 100.9-109.9
(105.5), tail 78.5-91.9 (86.5), culmen from base 30.8-34.8 (32.7),
tarsus 22.4-23.9 (23.0) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common in forested areas in the Tropical
and lower Subtropical zones in Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro; reported
in older collections east on the Pacific slope to Chitra and on the
Caribbean side to Calovévora, both in Veraguas.
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 43
Salvin in reporting on collections made by Arcé (Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1870, p. 193) recorded it from Calovévora, Chitra, and
Cordillera del Chuct. Later, with Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer.,
Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 182), Castillo was added, all of these localities
being in the uplands of the Pacific side of Veraguas except Calo-
vévora which is on the Caribbean slope. Earlier (Salvin, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1867, p. 144) had listed Santiago also. Specimens with
these localities are in the Salvin-Godman collection in the British
Museum, so that it is strange that later collectors have not en-
countered the bird in this province.
In Chiriqui, Arcé found it at Bugaba and W. W. Brown, Jr., in
1901 collected a series at Boquete. It is interesting that it seems
to have become rarer in that area as the only specimen recorded by
Blake (Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus. Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958,
pp. 528-529) in the Monniche collection was one taken at Camp
Holcomb, in Bocas del Toro. There is another from that province
taken on the Rio Changuena, September 11, 1961, by Rudolfo Hinds.
In my own field studies I have found these birds fairly common
on the western side of the volcano near El Volcan, and from there
westward toward the Costa Rican boundary.
The original description of this race was written by Robert
Ridgway, who forwarded the type with his comments to Osbert
Salvin in London, engaged at the time in studies of this family. Salvin
included “punctigula, Ridgw. MS”’ in his account with a summary of
their correspondence. Unexpectedly, this appeared in the Ibis for
July, 1889, while Ridgway’s formal, detailed account was not pub-
lished until 2 months later, on September 20. Though both Salvin
and Ridgway in their writings later assigned the name to the latter,
under the rule of priority in publication it is to be credited to Salvin.
XIPHORHYNCHUS ERYTHROPYGIA INSOLITUS Ridgway
Xiphorhynchus punctigula insolitus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol.
22, April 17, 1909, p. 73. (Cascajal, Coclé, Panama.)
Characters.—Duller, grayer olive, less greenish on the lower sur-
face; rump and upper tail coverts darker reddish brown; upper back
averaging slightly darker.
A male, taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 24, 1964, had
the iris dark brown; maxilla except cutting edge, fuscous-black ;
cutting edge and mandible pale neutral gray; tarsus and toes bluish
neutral gray; claws fuscous. A female, collected near the Candelaria
Hydrographic Station, March 5, 1961, also had the iris dark brown;
44 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
maxilla fuscous, becoming fuscous-brown on the distal half, and
pale neutral gray at the extreme base, below the nostril; tip of
mandible and adjacent cutting edge of maxilla light brown; rest of
mandible pale neutral gray ; tarsus and toes neutral gray ; claws dusky
neutral gray.
Méasurements—Males (10 from Panama, Colon, and Darién),
wing 106.2-114.5 (109.9), tail 81.0-93.0 (86.6), culmen from base
32.5-35.8 (33.5), tarsus 22.9-23.8 (23.3) mm.
Females (10 from Panama and Darién), wing 99.2-108.1 (103.7),
tail 79.1-86.7 (83.5), culmen from base 31.8-34.1 (33.0), tarsus
22.4—23.1 (22.7) mm.
Resident. Locally common in forest from Cerro Campana, west-
ern Province of Panama, eastward on both slopes to the Colombian
boundary in Darién and San Blas; ranging to 850 meters on Cerro
Campana, 600 meters on Cerro Bruja, 1580 meters on Cerro Pirre,
and 1450 meters on Cerro Mali.
In the small tracts of forest bordering the savannas at La Jagua
I was interested to encounter a few of these birds, elsewhere found
in heavily wooded areas in hill country and on mountain slopes.
Stomachs of those I have examined have contained broken bits of
insects, and also seeds and other remains of berries of some
melastome.
This race continues in northern Antioquia in northwestern Co-
lombia.
The type was collected February 13, 1899, by Heyde and Lux, at
Cascajal on the Caribbean slope of the Province of Coclé, the Rio
Cascajal being a tributary of the Rio Coclé del Norte. The collectors
noted that the bird was taken in “open forest.”’ It comes from near
the western limit of the race. The specimen is much changed by
foxing but compared to specimens of punctigula of similar or older
date is duller, less greenish in tone, on the lower surface, and has
the rump and upper tail coverts darker reddish brown. Griscom
(Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72, 1932, p. 348) was mistaken in his
comments on the type locality, as he was not aware that the Province
of Coclé on the Caribbean slope was heavily forested along the
streams.
LEPIDOCOLAPTES SOULEYETII (Des Murs): Streak-headed
Woodcreeper, Trepador Cabecirayado
Dendrocolaptes Souleyetii Des Murs, Iconogr. Orn., livr. 12, December 1848,
(1849), “Planche Ixix” = 70, and text. (Payta, Pert.)
aire)
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 45
Medium size; back wings, and tail cinnamon-brown; breast, crown,
and hindneck streaked with dull white.
Description—Length 170-195 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck dull dark brown, each feather with a central streak of
pale buffy white; back, scapulars, and wing coverts rather dull
cinnamon-brown, the upper back in some with streaks of dull white
bordered narrowly with blackish brown; rump, upper tail coverts,
wings, and tail cinnamon-rufous, with the primaries tipped with
dusky ; side of head blackish brown, streaked like the crown, with an
indistinctly indicated superciliary streak of pale buffy white; chin and
throat dull white to pale cinnamon-buff ; foreneck, breast, and abdomen
grayish brown, each feather with a broad central line of pale buffy
white, margined narrowly on either side with a dusky line, these
markings often reduced on the under tail coverts; edge of wing dull
white, spotted finely with dusky ; under wing coverts pale cinnamon-
buff; under surface of primaries, except at tips, cinnamon.
Juvenile, like adult, but with streaks on lower breast and abdomen
indefinite or absent, replaced in part by a few small, scattered spots of
dusky ; under tail coverts pale cinnamon-buff.
These are inhabitants of open woodland, small tracts or lines
of trees along streams, or the borders of swamps; found less often
in extensive forests. Occasionally I have noted them working care-
fully over lines of posts supporting fences across pastures, or rarely,
those separating houses in suburban areas not too densely populated.
They range alone or often in couples that may be true pairs or an
adult accompanied by an immature bird of adult or near adult size.
Their movements are like those of large woodcreepers in that they
climb steadily upward, sometimes on trees of small size. Always they
are quiet and inconspicuous, except that in the nesting season they
utter low melodious trills, a repetition of a single musical note.
The species is widely spread in tropical America from southern
México through Central America to northwestern Pert’ and much
of Brazil, including the island of Trinidad.
Two races are found in the Republic.
LEPIDOCOLAPTES SOULEYETII COMPRESSUS (Cabanis)
Thripobrotus compressus Cabanis, Journ. f. Orn., vol. 9, July 1861, p. 243.
(Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Light streaks on lower surface, crown, and hindneck
broad and conspicuous, those on the hindneck extending down on
the upper back; chin and throat very pale buff to dull white.
46 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
A male, taken near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 24,
1966, had the iris dark brown; base of maxilla below nostril and
mandibular rami dull neutral gray ; rest of maxilla dull brown, chang-
ing to fuscous on the base of the culmen; rest of mandible pale dull
brown, slightly darker at tip; tarsus and toes bluish slate; claws dull
black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro, and
Chiriqui), wing 90.5-97.8 (93.3), tail 74.5-85.1 (78.9), culmen from
base 28.7-31.5 (29.9), tarsus 19.0-19.9 (19.4) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro, and Chiriqui), wing
85.3-97.8 (90.7), tail 71.8-80.4 (76.3), culmen from base 27.9-31.0
(29.3), tarsus 18.2-19.8 (19.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common; on the Pacific slope from the boundary
with Costa Rica to eastern Chiriqui; to 1250 meters on Volcan
Bart; on the Caribbean side in western Bocas del Toro.
From available records, this race seems never to have been
abundant in Panama. The earliest report is by Sclater (Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1856, p. 140) who received one from Bridges taken
near “‘the town of David on the large forest-trees.” Arcé sent speci-
mens to Salvin (idem, 1870, p. 193) from Mina de Chorcha and
Bugaba. W. W. Brown, Jr., collecting for Outram Bangs, secured
six near David and Divala from October to December 1900, and
one near Boquete in April 1901. A small series in the California
Academy of Sciences was collected by Mrs. M. E. Davidson from
1929 to 1930 near Concepcion and El Banco, and in December 1931
and January 1932 near San Félix and Cerro Chame. There are two
in the American Museum of Natural History from Cerro Flores in
eastern Chiriqui.
Through extensive clearing for agriculture, available cover has
greatly decreased in these areas. In February 1956 I found scattered
individuals along the Rio San Félix and in the borders of mangroves
near the coast at Las Lajas. In March 1960 I encountered single
individuals in the scattered tree growth below Alanje, and on Febru-
ary 24, 1966, found one male near Puerto Armuelles. We have also
a male, presented by Dr. Frank Hartman, collected near El Volcan,
February 28, 1951. I have found no basis for the inclusion of
Veraguas in the range given by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 78, 1935, p. 342).
On the Caribbean side, L. s. compressus has been found rather
regularly near Almirante and Changuinola, where I noted a few in
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 47
January and February 1958. The bird has not been reported east of
Almirante Bay.
In Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, pp. 374—
384) found these birds sleeping singly in natural cavities, often where
the entrance was so located that it gave little shelter from rain. They
entered late when evening light was dim, and were abroad at dawn,
among the earliest birds to become active. Nests were placed in
similar cavities, apparently in preference to abandoned holes of
woodpeckers. For nest material male and female brought loose flakes
of bark, continuing to add bits as incubation proceeded. Also oc-
casionally they carried away a piece when they left the nest for any
reason. The two share in incubation but only one, presumed to be
the female, remained in the nest during the night.
Two white eggs, without markings, made the set, examined only by
means of a mirror, due to the type and location of the nest cavity.
LEPIDOCOLAPTES SOULEYETII LINEATICEPS (Lafresnaye)
Picolaptes lineaticeps Lafresnaye, Rev. et Mag. Zool., vol. 2, May 1850, p. 277.
(Type locality not indicated. )
Characters.—Light streaks on lower surface, crown and hindneck
narrower, less prominent; light streaking on upper back much re-
duced, in some absent ; throat pale cinnamon-buff.
A female, collected at La Jagua, Panama, January 12, 1962, had
the iris dark wood-brown; maxilla and tip of mandible dark mouse
brown; rest of mandible dull brownish white; tarsus and toes dull
greenish gray ; claws dark neutral gray. Another female from Cajita,
Panama, February 8, 1962, had the iris wood-brown; the bare center
of the eyelids dull grayish white; the rest of the bare area blackish
brown; base of maxilla dull grayish brown; rest of bill light brown;
tarsus and toes dull greenish gray; claws dull neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (17 from Canal Zone, Panama, and
Darién), wing 85.8-97.5 (92.3), tail 68.0-82.5 (74.9), culmen from
base 26.2-31.0 (28.7), tarsus 18.0-19.5 (18.8) mm.
Females (11 from Canal Zone, Panama, and Darién), wing 85.8-
95.2 (88.0), tail 68.4-76.2 (72.2), culmen from base 25.8-29.3
(27.5), tarsus 18.2-19.2 (18.7) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common in the lowlands on both Pacific
and Caribbean slopes from the Canal Zone through Darién and San
Blas to Colombia; to 600 meters elevation on Cerro Pirre.
This race is more widely distributed and more common than the
western L. s. compressus as suitable habitat for it is much more ex-
48 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tensive and has been less disturbed. The birds range singly or in pairs
through open woodland. I have seen them most often in lower,
smaller growth along the playas of the larger rivers, and at the borders
of mangroves near the coast. At La Jagua and near Chepo where they
were found in the lines of trees bordering the streams and marshes
in the open lowlands, in mid-April they were in breeding condition.
In feeding they are gleaners from the bark of the trees over which
they climb. Stomachs of those that I have examined have been
filled with small insects, including a variety of beetles, many ants,
roach egg cases, small wasps and bees, pentatomids, caterpillars,
and occasionally small moths, and bits of spiders.
Specimens were taken at Jaqué in eastern Darien, and on the
Quebrada Venado near Armila, eastern San Blas. In the latter area
they are recorded also at Puerto Obaldia. In Colombia this race
continues through northern Choco (Unguia, Acandi), the valley of
the Rio Sint in Cordoba, northwestern and central Antioquia, and
southern Bolivar through Santander and Norte de Santander to
Tachira and Mérida in western Venezuela.
The type specimen, examined in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology, has “Lafr. Coll. no. 2227” on the back of the label as its
only data. It is in good condition as regards plumage and color.
The color of the rump (protected by the tips of the wings), the
pattern of pale and dark stripes on the anterior lower surface, and
the limited extent of the streaking on the upper back, agree with
series from the Canal Zone eastward. This verifies the assignment of
the name by Peters (Check-list Birds World, vol. 7, 1951, p. 48).
Measurements of the type are as follows: wing 98.2, tail 80.3, culmen
from base 28.6, tarsus 18.3 mm.
LEPIDOCOLAPTES AFFINIS NEGLECTUS (Ridgway):
Spotted-crowned Woodcreeper, Trepador Cabecimanchado
Picolaptes affinis neglectus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 22, April
17, 1909, p. 73. (Coliblanco, Costa Rica. )
Medium size; back, wings, and tail cinnamon-brown; breast
streaked, crown and hindneck spotted with pale buffy white.
Description.—Length 200-220 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck light sepia-brown, spotted with buffy white, each spot
tipped and edged narrowly with black; back and wing coverts
umber-brown, the upper back in some streaked lightly with pale
buff ; rump and upper tail coverts cinnamon-brown; inner primaries
and secondaries cinnamon-brown ; outer primaries duller, tipped with
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 49
dusky, with the shafts black; sides of head dull buff, streaked in-
distinctly with dusky ; a narrow superciliary line buff ; chin and throat
buff; rest of under surface light grayish brown with each feather
centrally buff, bordered laterally narrowly with black, forming
broad light streaks; under tail coverts pale cinnamon-buff streaked
proximally, plain distally; under wing coverts pale yellow, mixed
with pale cinnamon ; under surface of inner primaries and secondaries
cinnamon-buff.
Juvenile, with the ground color of the under surface somewhat
browner.
A male taken at 1900 meters on Volcan Baru March 4, 1965, had
the iris dark brown; base of mandible fuscous-black; rest of bill
pale neutral gray, becoming lighter at the tip; tarsus and toes dull
green ; claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 101.0-112.4
(107.7), tail 88.7-97.0 (93.1), culmen from base 31.5-34.3 (32.6),
tarsus 21.3-22.2 (21.7) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui), wing 101.5-109.8 (106.4), tail
91.5-98.7 (93.3), culmen from base 31.6-35.1 (33.4), tarsus 21.3-
21-9)(21:5) mm:
Resident. Common locally in the mountain forests on Volcan
Baru, western Chiriqui, mainly from 1600 to 2500 meters, occasionally
down to 1250 meters; above ranging to the limits of suitable tree
cover.
I found one occasionally at the Quebrada Barriles and near the
lakes on the western slopes of the volcano, but the main range begins
at 1600 meters elevation, where I have seen them especially on Cerro
Pando above the pass at La Silla, and on the slopes above Cerro
Punta. They are common also on the slopes above Boquete, but
records to date do not include the forests on the Caribbean side in
Bocas del Toro. Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935,
p. 342) includes “Veraguas” in the range, but in this he may have been
misled by older specimens labeled “Veragua,” as I have found no
valid records in Panama except on the Pacific side of the great
volcano.
Like others of the family they climb steadily up the trunks and
over the larger branches of the trees, ranging usually well above the
level of undergrowth.
The usual call is a rapid repetition of a single note, suggestive of
that of a woodpecker. In early March I have seen pairs examining old
woodpecker holes, evidently in search of a nesting site.
50 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
An egg that I have seen in the British Museum (Natural History)
from Irazu, Costa Rica, collected June 3, 1900 (collector not in-
dicated), is dull white, without luster, and long elliptical in form. It
measures 29.8 X 21.1 mm.
In observations in the Costa Rican mountains, Skutch (Pac. Coast
Avif. no. 35, 1969, pp. 385-391) found them in pairs through the
year. They sleep singly in holes in trees, retiring late at night, and
are out at dawn. Nests that he found were in natural cavities or
crevices in tree trunks, or, in one instance, in an old nest hole made
by a barbet. The two white eggs were placed on fragments of hard,
thin bark. The pair share incubation and the care of the young. In
returning to the nest they often brought additional bits of bark to
add to the lining, and also often threw out bits of that already present.
The newly hatched young had an abundant covering of dark gray
down. They appeared to have one brood each year.
CAMPYLORHAMPHUS TROCHILIROSTRIS BREVIPENNIS
Griscom: Red-billed Scythebill, Trepador Pico de Garfio
Ficure 5
Campylorhamphus trochilirostris brevipennis Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 72, January 1932, p. 348. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Bill long, strongly curved, light reddish brown; back, wings, and
tail russet brown.
Description—Length 220-240 mm; bill long, slender, strongly
decurved. Adult (sexes alike), crown blackish brown, each feather
with a central streak of dull buff; hindneck browner, also strongly
streaked with buff; back russet brown, usually lined narrowly with
buff ; rump and upper tail coverts rufescent brown; wings, including
coverts, and tail chestnut, tips of the primaries slightly dusky; sides
of head and neck streaked with dull buff; chin and throat white to
dull buff, the feathers edged with sepia-brown producing prominent
light streaks; foreneck and breast light reddish brown, lined with
dull buff to buffy white; abdomen, flanks, and under tail coverts
somewhat brighter brown, without streaks; under wing coverts and
under side of wings cinnamon.
A female taken at Mandinga, San Blas, February 15, 1957, had
the iris wood brown; bill light reddish brown, slightly paler on the
gonys; tarsus and toes greenish gray; claws light reddish brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, San Blas,
Darién, and northern Colombia), wing 91.2-98.2 (93.7), tail 74.2-
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 51
90.0 (80.6), culmen from base 60.3-65.0 (62.3), tarsus 21.6—23.4
(22.4) mm.
Females (8 from Darién, San Blas, and northern Colombia) wing
87.8-94.5 (90.8), tail 72.3-82.6 (77.5), culmen from base 55.5-60.0
(57.4, average of 5), tarsus 20.9-21.9 (21.5) mm.
Resident. Rare in the forested lowlands; on the Pacific side from
the Canal Zone through Darién; on the Caribbean slope, from 2133
meters in the mountains of Bocas del Toro, on the trail leading from
Figure 5.—Red-billed scythebill, trepador pico de garfio, Campylorhamphus
trochilirostris brevipennis.
Boquete ; and from northern Coclé, through the Canal Zone to eastern
San Blas (Permé).
The Red-billed Scythebill, recognized as a distinct subspecies, from
central and eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia, has been
recorded to the present in the Republic from about 30 specimens,
taken during the period of a hundred years, and a few additional
sight records.
The first were collected by McLeannan on the Atlantic slope along
the line of the Panama Railroad, about 1861 (Lawrence, Ann. Lyc.
Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1861, p. 292). One of these in the
52 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Salvin-Godman collection in the British Museum is labeled Lion Hill
Station. Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 2, 1900, p. 26)
recorded male and female taken in March 1900, at Lion Hill by W.
W. Brown, Jr. Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1918, p.
263) reported a male collected by L. L. Jewel near Gatun, April 14,
1911. E. A. Goldman secured one at Tabernilla, Canal Zone, April
15, 1911, and one at 600 meters near Cana, Darién, March 14, 1912.
W. Lamm saw one on Barro Colorado Island, August 17, 1935.
Griscom in the original description of this race listed a male from
Permé, San Blas.
The most western record of this bird is a male that I collected
February 24, 1952, at El Uracillo, Coclé, in the Caribbean lowlands
on the headwaters of the Rio Indio. From a thicket bordering a
small field our attention was attracted by a clear, ringing trill, that
finally my companion and I traced to one of these birds resting on a
tall palm stub that rose to the level of the leaf crown of the
surrounding trees. The bird, partly hidden in a slight depression in
the top of the stub, repeated its song at intervals of a minute or two,
with the tips of the two halves of the long, curved bill slightly
separated. The gonads were in breeding stage. During preparation
of the specimen I noted that the dorsal pteryla was only slightly
expanded in the center of the back and that it continued uniformly
without a break to the base of the tail.
A field note by E. A. Goldman regarding the male that he collected
at Tabernilla records that the bird gave a chirping call as it climbed
the tree trunk.
In February 1957 I found this scythebill at Mandinga in western
San Blas. One taken February 1 as it climbed up small tree trunks
in second growth (rastrojo) had the stomach filled with slender-
bodied white beetle larvae, from 18 to 25 mm long, with a few
fragments of adult beetles. The female taken here in forest tapped
the bark steadily as it climbed upward on a tree trunk. Two were
seen in company on the following day at the edge of forest.
The stomach of the female collected by Goldman at Cana held the
broken fragments of a small scorpion, including the sting at the
end of the tail, and parts of two or more roaches, as well as bits of
their egg cases.
T. K. Salmon (in Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1879, p. 524) near Remedios, Antioquia, Colombia, found a nest
of this species “inside a decayed tree, which had been cut off about
three feet from the ground, and become hollow to the roots, so that
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 53
the nest had no protection from the rain.” The single egg, which I
have examined in the British Museum (Natural History) is white,
with faint gloss, and short subelliptical in form. It measures 23.9
21.0mm. (Through error Schonwetter, Handb. Ool. pt. 14, 1967, p.
18, lists the size as 28.420.8 mm.) I find that male and female
skins in the British Museum, collected by Salmon at Remedios,
Antioquia, average darker than specimens of C. t. venesuelensis from
Venezuela, and are to be identified as the race brevipennis. Specimens
collected for me by M. A. Carriker, Jr., at the Hacienda Belén, on
the headwaters of the Rio Nechi about 15 kilometers northwest of
Remedios also are the subspecies brevipennis, so that the egg is to be
assigned to that race.
CAMPYLORHAMPHUS PUSILLUS (Sclater) : Brown-billed
Scythebill, Trepador Pico de Hoz
Xiphorhynchus pusillus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28, August
1860, p. 278, footnote. (Bogota, Colombia. )
Much darker than the related species, with dark brown bill;
slightly smaller.
Description—Length 220-240 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown,
sides of head, and hindneck sooty brown to black, streaked narrowly
with buff; back and scapulars brown with narrow streaks, mainly on
upper back, of pale buff; rump cinnamon-rufous changing to rufous
on upper tail coverts; tail chestnut; wings also chestnut, in some
duller on outer webs, tipped with dusky; sides of head and neck
sooty ; chin and throat buff, the lower feathers edged with sooty black ;
rest of foreneck, breast, and sides brown, lined narrowly with buff;
abdomen usually paler and without streaks; under tail coverts more
or less rufescent, with shaft lines of buff; axillars cinnamon; under
wing coverts, and anterior under surface of wing cinnamon-buff.
The bill in a male collected by D. Koslovsky, J. Sawyer, and D. B.
Means March 18, 1967, at Nueva Suiza, Chiriqui, is marked as dark
brown. The label of a male in the American Museum of Natural
History collected by Austin Paul Smith April 5, 1920, at Aquiares,
Costa Rica, lists the maxilla as black, mandible horn color, tarsus
dark olive. This is a rare species that ranges north beyond Panama
through much of Costa Rica, mainly in the highland forests of the
Subtropical Zone. The little on record indicates merely that it has
the habit of other species of its family in climbing up the trunks and
larger limbs of trees.
While the two slightly different populations of Panama (with one
54 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
extending into Costa Rica, as indicated) are currently treated as
conspecific with that of the mountains of Colombia and western
Ecuador, it should be noted that the latter is paler in general colora-
tion, including the bill and claws in addition to the plumage. It is
possible that field studies may indicate that the Central American
group is specifically distinct.
CAMPYLORHAMPHUS PUSILLUS BOREALIS Carriker
Campylorhamphus pusillus borealis Carriker, Ann, Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, August
29 (= September 7), 1910, p. 657. (El Hogar, Province of Limon, Costa
Rica.)
Xiphorhynchus grandis “Cherrie,” Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol.
3, January 30, 1902, p. 48. (Nomen nudum. )
Characters —Slightly larger; faintly lighter colored, especially
on the under surface.
Measurements——Males (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Bocas
del Toro), wing 92.8-101.2 (96.0), tail 82.3-99.4 (89.5), chord of
culmen from base 54.0-59.0 (56.2), tarsus 21.0-22.9 (22.0) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica and Chiriqui), wing 90.0-99.4
(93.3), tail 79.1-90.1 (82.9), chord of culmen from base 55.2-61.3
(57.4, average of 9), tarsus 21.3-22.7 (22.0) mm.
Resident. Rare, mainly in forests of the Subtropical Zone, in
western Chiriqui, and western Bocas del Toro.
The first specimens were collected by Enrique Arcé in Chiriqui,
the two in the British Museum (Natural History) having come from
him to the Salvin-Godman and Sclater collections. There is another
labeled Boquete in the Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum in Vienna
purchased from the dealer Rosenberg that I examined in June 1954.
The specimen recorded by Bangs under the name “Xiphorhynchus
grandis Cherrie” as from the “Caribbean slope of Volcan de Chiriqui,
700 feet, June 16, 1901,” was collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., at
about 215 meters elevation back of Chiriqui Grande, Bocas del Toro,
on the trail leading from Boquete to the Chiriqui Lagoon (Mrs.
Davidson, Auk, 1936, p. 232). Dr. Frank Hartman presented two
to the National Museum taken at about 1375 meters, beyond El
Volcan, on the slopes leading to the Silla de Cerro Pando. Another
that he collected there west of the Rio Chiriqui Viejo on March 8,
1951, was not preserved as a specimen. A male in the American
Museum of Natural History was collected March 18, 1967, at Nueva
Suiza, below Cerro Punta, Chiriqui, by D. Koslovsky, B. Means, and
J. Sawyer. More recently, two males secured by Rudolfo Hinds at
FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 55
about 750 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, Bocas del Toro, were
sent to me by Dr. Pedro Galindo.
The few reports on habits in this race have come from observations
made in Costa Rica. Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus. vol. 6, 1910, p.
658) wrote that “it is found only in the heavy forest, and is almost
always seen feeding on a certain species of palm, probing with its
long curved bill between the clusters of nuts and between the bases
of the leaf-stalks where they emerge from the crown of the tree,
evidently in search of some insect.” Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 202) describes it as typical of its family in
its climbing habits, though unlike others in that he observed that “‘it
sometimes investigates a fallen tree trunk.” He noted it at times in
foraging companies of mixed species, and speaks of its calls as “by
far the longest and most involved” of any species of the family.
Apparently Cherrie at one time planned to name this race, as a
specimen in the U. S. National Museum that he collected August 25,
1893, at La Estrella de Cartago, Costa Rica, is marked type with the
name grandis, a nomen nudum cited in the heading from Bangs.
CAMPYLORHAMPHUS PUSILLUS OLIVACEUS Griscom
Campylorhamphus borealis olivaceus Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 8. (Chitra, 1100 meters elevation, Veraguas, Panama. )
Characters.—Slightly smaller; somewhat darker, blacker.
Measurements —Males (5 from Veraguas, eastern Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 89.7—96.0 (92.4), tail 81.5-84.2 (83.0,
average of 4), culmen from base 52.1-56.8 (54.7, average of 4),
tarsus 21.9-22.2 (22.0) mm.
Females (4 from Veraguas and Darién), wing 86.9-95.6 (90.1),
tail 79.0-86.5 (83.9), culmen from base 55.6-60.5 (57.9), tarsus 21.5-
22.1(21,8 mim:
Resident. Rare. Recorded from the forests in northern Veraguas ;
on Cerro Azul, Province of Panama; Cerro Pirre, Cerro Tacarcuna,
and Cerro Quia, Darién.
This race was named from a female collected by R. R. Benson at
Chitra on the Pacific slope of Veraguas. With the type specimen
Griscom listed another, also taken by Benson, from the Rio Calové-
vora on the Caribbean side, which was said to be “darker than the
type, with narrower and more restricted shaft streaks.”” Two older
specimens in the British Museum were secured by Arcé at Chitra in
1869. A third in the Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum in Vienna
(formerly mounted, but when examined in June 1954, was in the
50 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
skin collection), also taken by Arcé, is labeled Calobre, Veraguas.
Another male in the U. S. National Museum was taken at Chitra by
Heyde and Lux on June 22, 1889.
E. A. Goldman on March 25, 1911, collected a male at 900 meters
on Cerro Azul. He secured two others near 1600 meters on Cerro
Pirre, Darién in 1912, a male on April 18 and a female on April 29.
There are two others in the National Museum from Darién, one of
them, a male taken June 7, 1963, by Dr. Pedro Galindo, on Cerro Mali
at 1460 meters. Dr. C. O. Handley, Jr., caught a female in a mist
net set over a small stream at 1250 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna
March 10, 1964.
One from 760 meters elevation on Cerro Quia taken by Dr. Galindo
March 16, 1971, is somewhat darker than two from the higher levels
of Cerro Tacarcuna.
Family FURNARIIDAE: Ovenbirds, Spinetails, and
Leaf-scrapers; Horneros, Canasteros y Hojarasqueros
This is a family of South American origin, its species mainly of
sedentary habit, so that it is reasonable to assume that its spread
northward has come since the formation of the isthmian land bridge.
Its close allies are found in the woodcreepers, the Dendrocolaptidae,
with which some share a climbing habit. Of the 215 living kinds 23
are known in Panama, the number decreasing steadily northward
through Central America until finally there are only 7 that reach
southern México. In South America, while some have adapted to
life on open lands in the high mountains and on the treeless plains of
Patagonia, those of Panama and northward are, in the main, inhabit-
ants of forests and thickets. They seem averse to crossing open
water as the only one that has reached any of the offshore islands of
the Isthmus is the Rusty-backed Spinetail, Cranioleuca vulpina disstta,
a forest inhabitant of Isla Coiba, isolated there with its close relatives
far distant in South America.
The widely known name, “‘ovenbird,” for the family comes from
the rounded, enclosed nest of dried mud characteristic of one of the
better known species of south-central South America. Others con-
struct rounded masses of sticks (often spiny) in some of extraordi-
nary bulk for the size of the birds that build them. Some nest in holes
in the ground, or in other cavities. Eggs are unmarked, usually white,
though in a few species tinted with blue, green, or buff.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 57
The sequence of genera followed is that of Peters (Check-list
Birds of the World, vol. 7, 1951).
10.
1.
12:
13.
14.
KEY TO SPECIES OF FURNARIIDAE
Bill with culmen straight from base to tip; distal half of mandible curved
RID WAL teretre Sere er eres ete te ate eae ere ec eae ere rer ete Eee renee 2
Bile withtculmenycurved downwardat tipsaeece ssn cence eo tece nee 3
Foreneck and breast streaked heavily with dull white.
Streaked xenops, Xenops rutilans, p. 104
Breast plain, unmarked; foreneck streaked lightly and indistinctly.
Plain xenops, Xenops minutus, p. 107
Wancinwithetwondenniteu Danse san cerieniemer ar cismr in cincatee mite immer 4
Wane without definite barsecnt sera ce cone come cacti ston 6 neice 5
Size small, wing less than 60 mm.
Double-banded soft-tail, Xenerpestes minlosi umbraticus, p. 70
Larger, wing more than 90 mm.
Lawrence’s tufted-cheek, Pseudocolaptes lawrencii lawrenct, p. 79
Crown wholly or partly, bright rutous-browne..--0+-eo.- se cses ence es 6
Crownenotsbrightanifous-prownen an ooo eee. eho e ee iane an ears 9
rows Wholly” TUfOMS-ONOWA)s sas Aes Seales «a0 oo ta ab ajete ss ercwe aici s 5 eyes ae 7
Roreheadsrt ay pOrnausky a eTayincd- tc oeocGe & cet elcukehs hone tleks ocieisiecrene ole 8
Entire dorsal surface rufous to cinnamon-brown.
Rusty-backed spinetail, Cranioleuca vulpina dissita, p. 68
Only the crown and tail rufous-brown, back duller brown.
Red-faced spinetail, Cranioleuca erythrops, adult, p. 65
Back and tail grayish brown.
Pale-breasted spinetail, Synallaxis albescens latitabunda, adult, p. 59
Back and tail dusky to nearly black.
Slaty spinetail, Synallaxis brachyura, adult, p. 62
Mai lOneere than WIM 2. sicker ex siecle cescres casks: crore one cke ener ciel ieretetace eaenerel ee 10
MRailenotsloncers thanewiN? tem oui ae occ ele oe bine e inci erenents naire 12
Tail rufous-brown.
Red-faced spinetail, Cranioleuca erythrops, immature, p. 65
Railabrownishegray. or slatyablack. avercictele ork isrepareriera ieee si veiiete susie 11
Tail brownish gray.
Pale-breasted spinetail, Synallaxis albescens latitabunda, immature, p. 59
Mail slaty black... ... Slaty spinetail, Synallaxis brachyura, immature, p. 62
Breast and abdomen spotted with white or buffy white................ 13
Breast and abdomen streaked, or without markings; not spotted with
WIRE | Sys ees rie A SERS Shake aene esdtoteet =, dea Seaver eee Rinses ers evens 16
Spots small and indistinct, restricted on abdomen; sides rufous-brown.
Ruddy margarornis, Margarornis rubiginosus, p. 73
Spotssprominent including weabdomienery-tereeriete eis 1s ole ee 2 a 14
Bill longer, 20 mm or more; side of head dark brown.
Sharp-tailed creeper, Lochmias nematura nelsoni, p. 118
58
1s.
16.
as
18.
1S,
20.
Zi,
22.
2:
24.
25.
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Bill shorter, less than 17 mm; side of head streaked with white, or buffy
WIHMEEE) sakes le Anse yet ase oi AT as eeu ee RSI ol caer ecu ata 15
sbhroat swiiteen sa Beautiful margarornis, Margarornis bellulus, p. 71
Throat buff, or cinnamon-buff.
Spotted barbtail, Premnoplex brunnescens, p. 75
Shafts of rectrices stiff and firm for entire length; bill somewhat flattened,
more slender, height at nostril about equal to width................ 27,
Shafts of rectrices flexible at distal end; bill heavier, height at nostril
decidedly more than. widths cia. so-de misc paaids shine ensues seine foe 17
Tail black, or very faintly rufescent.
Ruddy leaf-gleaner, Automolus rubiginosus saturatus, p. 96
Tail distinctly: chestnut, scutous, On Cinnamon sss ieee see ae ieee 18
Wings mainly bright rufous; side of head cinnamon-rufous like throat and
chest, except for a plain grayish brown streak behind eye.
Buff-fronted leaf-gleaner, Philydor rufus rufescens, p. 92
Wings dull brown or grayish brown; side of head darker than throat,
AISHall ya Streak Wee) cies us tere gevogstciet suet ia clevere fous nr yrensesteke eect auclel rata te ate dere 19
Wings gray; tail and rump bright cinnamon-brown.................. 20
Wings reddish brown; tail and rump chestnut to rufous-brown....... 21
Under surface light rufous-brown; back rufous to chestnut; crown only
slightly darker than back.
Rufous-rumped leaf-gleaner, Philydor erythrocercus fuscipennis, p. 90
Duller above and below; decidedly less rufous except on side of neck and
in superciliary behind eye.
Rufous-rumped leaf-gleaner, Philydor erythrocercus erythronotus, p. 91
A distinct throat patch of yellow, buff, or white, different in color from
PREASE ce recetiass oars coe ae aires Ie ks ere ees aay ea aces ee ea ee 22
Throat, foreneck, and upper breast similar in color and pattern....... 24
Throat patch light yellow.
Lineated leaf-gleaner, Syndactyla subalaris, adult, p. 84
Throat: patch wbulk Or jwihwtte a i(Gs «eesiesenotec stone olovouer okey -encweeke- taclevar =elsteekae 23
Crown and hindneck definitely streaked with buff, no well-marked super-
ciliary ; buff throat patch narrower, with side of neck streaked.
Striped leaf-gleaner, Hyloctistes subulatus, p. 82
Crown and hindneck very faintly streaked; a buff superciliary; the white
or buff throat patch extending over side of neck.
Buff-throated leaf-gleaner, Automolus ochrolaemus, p. 97
Smaller ; foreneck and upper breast dull yellowish white, faintly bordered
with grayish brown; rest of under surface grayish brown faintly lined
with dull yellowish white.
Scaly-throated leaf-gleaner. Anabacerthia variegaticeps, p. 88
Larger ; foreneck and upper breast distinctly cinnamon-buff to rufous; rest
ofunden surface reddish brownl..scserr-tacide te ttre aroie «) -oneratetereiar 25
Crown dark rufous with faint shaft lines of pale cinnamon; foreneck and
breast not streaked.
Ruddy leaf-gleaner, Automolus rubiginosus fumosus, p. 94
Crown dark grayish brown, the feathers edged with black to produce indefi-
nite lines; throat and breast more or less streaked................. 26
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 59
26. A postocular streak of rufous; breast rufous, indistinctly streaked; brighter,
more reddish brown on back and rump
Lineated leaf-gleaner, Syndactyla subalarts, juvenile, p. 85
No distinct postocular streak ; breast streaked heavily with cinnamon-rufous ;
duller, darker brown on back and rump.
Streak-breasted leaf-gleaner, Thripadectes rufobrunneus, p. 101
27. Throat and upper foreneck white, with the feathers edged with brown or
blacksemaee Scaly-throated leaf-scraper, Sclerurus guatemalensis, p. 115
Whroaty purousAcinnainon, OLVetay. sininaGked sna seiieeseelae ee ceueieie elekete 28
28. Throat gray; a distinct rufous band on lower foreneck and breast.
Gray-throated leaf-scraper, Sclerurus albigularis canigularis, p. 110
Throat cinnamon to rufous, shading into darker rufous of breast.
Tawny-throated leaf-scraper, Sclerurus mexicanus, p. 111
SYNALLAXIS ALBESCENS LATITABUNDA Bangs: Pale-breasted
Spinetail, Canastero Pechiblanco
FIGURE 6
Synallaxis albescens latitabunda Bangs, Auk, vol. 24, July 1907, p. 298. (Boruca,
Puntarenas, Costa Rica. )
Synallaris albescens hypoleuca Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 22,
April 17, 1909, p. 73. (Nata, Coclé, Panama. )
Small, slender, with long, pointed tail; throat white, crown and
wing coverts cinnamon-rufous.
Description —Length 140-152 mm. Adult (sexes alike), fore
crown to level of the eyes mouse gray, with indistinct darker shaft
lines; rest of crown and nape cinnamon-rufous; lesser and middle
wing coverts light cinnamon-rufous, the greater coverts in part
slightly paler; rest of upper surface grayish brown, with wings and
tail edged lightly with warmer brown; anterior lores grayish white;
auricular region mouse gray, lined lightly with white; rest of side
of head pale mouse gray; chin and upper throat white; lower throat
gray to dusky basally, tipped with white, producing an indistinct
spot ; sides of neck and breast light mouse gray, slightly paler toward
center; lower breast and abdomen white; sides, flanks, and under
tail coverts light brown; inner margin of wing feathers, and posterior
under wing coverts white; rest and edge of wing pinkish buff.
Immature, upper surface duller, plain brown, with the occiput,
wings, and outer margins of tail feathers slightly brighter, more
rufescent, especially on the wing coverts ; under surface buffy brown,
paler, verging toward white on throat and abdomen.
An adult female, collected at La Jagua, Panama, March 21, 1961,
had the iris light brown; maxilla dark neutral gray ; mandible neutral
60 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
gray, slightly paler at the tip; tarsus yellowish brown, the yellowish
shade more prominent on the posterior area; toes dull brownish gray.
Measurements.—Males (16 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos,
Herrera, and Province of Panama), wing 52.0-54.8 (53.5), tail
68.1-76.5 (72.5), culmen from base 11.2-13.5 (12.7), tarsus 18.2-
19.2 (18.6) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera, and Province of
Figure 6.—Pale-breasted spinetail, canastero pechiblanco, Synallaxis albescens
latitabunda.
Panama), wing 50.9-53.7 (52.3), tail 65.7-73.1 (70.0, average of 9),
culmen from base 12.3-13.4 (12.7), tarsus 18.0-20.0 (19.0) mm.
Resident. Fairly common locally on the Pacific slope from western
Chiriqui to the lower Rio Bayano in eastern Province of Panama; to
1250 meters elevation near El Volcan, Chiriqui.
These are birds of open lands, found on savannas and at the
borders of swamps and marshes, where there is low growth of spiny,
fine-leaved shrubs, or heavy stands of coarse grasses. As they are
shy their presence is known usually from their low, complaining calls,
or their brief appearance in the branches of the low thorn shrubs
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 61
that is their common shelter. In their short flights barely over the
tops of this cover, tail and body tilt quickly, and after progress of a
few yards, they disappear at once in the dense cover.
The nest is roughly spherical, made of the dry thorny twigs of the
low bushes in which it is located, mixed with a few bits of dry grass
or reeds, if in a marshy area. The notes of Major-General G. Ralph
Meyer describe one found near Pacora, May 21, 1941, as roughly
globular, 200 by 280 mm with a tubular entrance tunnel 350 mm in
length. Externally, it was approximately 125 mm in diameter, with
a narrow passageway only 50 mm wide. The three fresh eggs were
white, with measurements of 19.3 15.0, 19.3 15.5, and 19.8 15.7
mm. Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, p. 340) found that both
male and female shared the work of nest-building, incubation, and
care of the young.
During the rainy season where shallow water stands beneath the
thorny bushes that they inhabit, they may be more readily seen. And
then, in this period, when they are nesting, males may rest in the open
with partly spread tails while they call.
The brown young in their first plumage resemble their parents
only in form as their colors differ completely.
The species is one of wide distribution in suitable terrain from
southern México through Central America, and South America east
of the Andes to Bolivia and northern Argentina.
When Ridgway described the bird of Panama as a separate race
hypoleuca he had available only one specimen, a bird collected by
H. T. Heyde and Ernesto Lux, March 31, 1889, at Nata in the pro-
vince of Coclé. The date of collection is toward the end of the dry
season when the heat of the sun, unbroken by cloud cover for weeks,
is severe. The bird is considerably faded so that it is decidedly paler
throughout than any of the series of 30 normal specimens now
available. These do not differ from the population of Costa Rica, so
that the name hypoleuca is placed in synonymy as suggested by
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 861, 1936, p. 14).
SYNALLAXIS BRACHYURA Lafresnaye: Slaty Spinetail, Canastero
Pizarroso
Synallaxis brachyurus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., vol. 6, October, 1843, p. 290.
(Bogota, Colombia. )
Small and slender, with long, pointed tail; crown and wing cin-
namon-rufous; rest of plumage slaty to brownish gray.
62 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description—Length 145-160 mm. Adult (sexes alike), fore-
head, side of head, and back olive to brownish gray; crown, nape,
and wings cinnamon-rufous or reddish chestnut, with the tips of
flight feathers olive-brown; upper tail coverts more brownish gray;
tail olive to grayish olive, with the shafts black; under surface mouse
gray to slate, paler on the abdomen and darker on the breast ; upper
throat streaked narrowly with white; under wing coverts ochraceous-
buff, with the inner webs of the flight feathers cinnamon.
Immature, entire upper surface olive-brown; wings rufescent
brown, duller than in adults, with the tips sooty black, edged lightly
with dull brown; tail sooty black; upper throat grayish white; rest
of under surface grayish olive, grayer on the abdomen; under sur-
face of wing as in the adult.
The iris in the adult bird is bright reddish brown.
Though similar in form to the related Pale-breasted Spinetail, this
species differs decidedly in darker coloration, call notes, and the
haunts that it frequents. In highland areas I have found them most
often in the growths of bracken, common at forest borders, and in
dense stands in pastures. Lower down they are seen usually in
thickets at forest edge, and along the border of swampy areas. While
they may range up to a meter or two, when approached they drop
down to near ground level, sometimes so rapidly that they appear
to tumble. There they move so quietly under cover that it may be
several minutes before they are seen. Often also they rest on some
hidden perch. The rattling, churring calls given rapidly may suggest
the notes of a wren. Another call is a higher pitched double note.
In handling them I have noticed that they have a pungent, musky
odor. Occasionally this is so strong that I have detected it from birds
moving through leaves nearby.
The species is found from southeastern Honduras through Cen-
tral America and Colombia to Ecuador, with one apparently isolated
form described from Goias, east-central Brazil. Two subspecies
occur in Panama.
SYNALLAXIS BRACHYURA NIGRIFUMOSA Lawrence
Synallaxis nigrifumosa Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1865,
p. 180. (Greytown, Nicaragua.)
Characters.—Darker in color throughout; back darker brown,
under surface decidedly darker, and the rufous color of crown and
wings darker.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 63
Measurements.—Males (14 from Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui),
wing 55.0-59.8 (56.5), tail 65.0-75.8 (72.6), culmen from base
14.5-16.8 (15.6), tarsus 20.4-21.9 (21.1) mm.
Females (10 from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Bocas del Toro),
wing 52.2-56.4 (54.6), tail 64.0-72.9 (69.3), culmen from base
14.5-16.6 (15.5), tarsus 20.0-21.7 (21.1) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Tropical and lower Subtropical
zones on the Pacific slope from the Costa Rican boundary in western
Chiriqui (Concepcion, 450 meters elevation, Santa Clara, El Volcan
at 1350 meters) ; and on the Caribbean side in western Bocas del
Toro (Almirante, Cocoplum, Rio Changuena at 725 meters, Chan-
guinola, Cricamola) ; and northern Veraguas (Rio Calovévora).
Two specimens collected in Chiriqui by Arcé (without other data),
one in the British Museum and one in the U.S. National Museum, are
early reports from this area. Mrs. Davidson (Proc. California
Acad. Sci., 1938, p. 258) secured male and female at Concepcion,
December 7 and 12, 1929. Worth (Auk, 1939, p. 307) mentioned
an unoccupied nest seen at 1220 meters on the Rio Gariché below
El Volcan. In the course of my own field studies I have found
this spinetail fairly common from E1 Volcan west toward Costa Rica,
ranging to 1350 meters. Lower, near Buena Vista from 600 to 700
meters, it was common, but though I heard it calling daily it was seen
only through careful watching, as it remained hidden in dense thickets
or stands of bracken.
Two eggs in a set in the U.S. National Museum, collected by
Austin Smith at Puerto Jiménez on Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, July
18, 1922, are somewhat pointed, short subelliptical in form, and
are dull white. They measure 21.2x16.5, and 21.5X16.5 mm. A
nest painted by Don Eckelberry (Condor, 1960, opposite p. 413),
from one seen in Costa Rica, was made of coarse sticks, with a small
opening leading to the inside, placed in a thorny shrub. A photo by
Skutch (Nature Mag., vol. 10, 1947, p. 70) shows a similar globular
structure, with entrance through a tunnel at one side.
In January and February 1958, these birds were common around
Bahia Almirante and near Changuinola, recorded mainly, as usual,
from their constant churring chatter. Occasionally one came through
shrubbery and vines covering a fence beside our house near the water
in the town of Almirante. One was observed carrying sticks for a
nest on January 23. Males collected in February and early March
64 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
were in breeding condition. The Rio Calovévora record is from an
immature bird taken by Benson.
With an excellent series of specimens taken in Chiriqui and in
Bocas del Toro I find that birds from the two areas both represent
nigrifumosa though currently those of Chiriqui have been placed
with chapman. They show only very slight variation toward that
race.
(The author’s separates of the paper in which nigrifumosa was de-
scribed, through a printer’s error, had the pages wrongly numbered,
the reference in the separate to this form being listed as on page 181
instead of 180 as in the original source. )
SYNALLAXIS BRACHYURA CHAPMANI Bangs and Penard
Synallaxis brachyura chapmani Bangs and Penard, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 63, June 1919, p. 25. (Jiménez, Valle, Colombia. )
Characters.—Definitely lighter colored throughout, the chestnut
of crown and wings being paler, the back lighter brown, and the
under surface lighter gray, with the white on the throat more exten-
sive. The average size is very slightly greater.
Measurements—Males (10 from the Canal Zone, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 56.0-65.3 (59.2), tail 67.6-81.7 (74.3, average of
9), culmen from base 15.7-17.5 (16.4, average of 9), tarsus 21.4—
24.4 (22.8) mm.
Females (11 from San Blas and Darién), wing 55.6-60.3 (57.8),
tail 65.4-71.8 (69.8, average of 9), culmen from base 14.7-16.6
(15.8, average of 10), tarsus 21.4-23.0 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Rare in the lower Chagres Valley in the Canal Zone;
fairly common in westerri San Blas near Mandinga; common in
southeastern Darién on the upper Rio Jaqué.
The first record of this race for Panama is by Sclater and Salvin
(Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p. 354) of specimens received from
McLeannan at Lion Hill. There are three from this collector in the
British Museum (Natural History) and two in the U.S. National
Museum. Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1861,
p. 319) quotes a note from Galbraith, collecting with McLeannan, that
they were common. Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, 1900,
p. 26) reported five taken at the same locality in March 1900. They
now are rare, as the last specimen record is by Goldman who
collected an immature female there February 6, 1912. At Mandinga,
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 65
in the western San Blas, I found them common in January and
February 1957. In Darién they are fairly common on Cerro Pirre,
where Goldman found them in 1912, Benson in 1928, and I in 1961.
I found them common also on the upper Rio Jaqué in 1947, but did
not see them lower down near the mouth of the river. The race
ranges through western Colombia to western Ecuador.
Stomachs that I have examined have held small beetles of several
families, a variety of hemiptera, fly larvae, bits of caterpillars, and
of spiders, including eggs.
An egg of the allied Synallaxis b. brachyura collected by Salmon
at Remedios, Antioquia, reported by Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1879, p. 521) is recorded as “pale greenish blue’ with
measurements of 21.6 16.5 mm.
CRANIOLEUCA ERYTHROPS (Sclater) : Red-faced Spinetail,
Coliaguda Cariroja
Synallaxis erythrops P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28, May 1860,
p. 66. (Pallatanga, Ecuador.)
Small; long-tailed and slender; crown and sides of head russet.
Description—Length 145-160 mm. Adult (sexes alike), top,
nape, and sides of head, including the malar region, cinnamon-rufous ;
hindneck, back, rump, and upper tail coverts olive-brown; wing
coverts, wings, and tail cinnamon-rufous, becoming darker, more
reddish brown on the primaries, which also are dusky on the inner
webs and toward the tips; under surface light to buffy olive; flanks
and under tail coverts, and in some the abdomen, tinged with reddish
brown; under wing coverts ochraceous-buff ; inner margin of webs
of primaries and secondaries pinkish buff.
Immature, crown olive-brown like back; a narrow superciliary line
russet; sides of head and ramal area dull reddish brown, with the
posterior auricular area dark olive; somewhat lighter, faintly buffy
on under surface, with the flanks and under tail coverts more reddish
brown.
This spinetail, a bird of the Subtropical Zone in the mountains, as
a species is found in Costa Rica and western Panama, appears again
in Darién, and then ranges from western Colombia south to western
Ecuador. It is local, but fairly common in the western end of its
range; rare and little known from Darién southward. Two races are
recorded from Panama, one in the western, the other in the eastern
mountains.
66 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Vaurie (Class. Ovenbirds, 1971, pp. 11, 22-25) has merged the
genus Cranioleuca Reichenbach, 1853, with Certhiaxis Lesson, 1844,
using the latter name for the combined group. In his discussion he
seems to justify the action mainly on the location and form of the
nest, with some additional data. Certhiaxis cinnamomea, as I have
seen it in the Chaco in northern Argentina and Paraguay, and in
Venezuela, has lived mainly around open lagoons and similar marshy
areas. The various species of Cranioleuca that I have encountered
in Central and South America have been more birds of the forest or,
in more open country, of thickets and heavy stands of taller herbace-
ous plants. Wing form seems somewhat different in the two groups,
and there appear other differences. It seems preferable to recognize
those of Panama under the current genus name Cramioleuca, until all
are better known in detail.
CRANIOLEUCA ERYTHROPS RUFIGENIS (Lawrence)
Synallaxis rufigenis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 9, 1868,
p. 105. (Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Reddish brown of crown, side of head, wings, and
tail somewhat paler and brighter ; crown cap shorter, not quite reach-
ing the posterior border of the crown; under surface darker, grayer.
An adult male, collected February 26, 1965, near Barriles, Chiriqui,
had the iris reddish brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-
black; base of mandible dull reddish brown; tarsus and toes dull
brownish green, with the lower surface of the toe pads dull yellow;
claws brownish neutral gray.
An adult female, taken March 1, 1954, on the Silla de Cerro Pando,
west of El Volcan, Chiriqui, had the iris light brownish red; maxilla
dusky neutral gray ; tip of mandible pale neutral gray ; base of mandi-
ble vinaceous ; tarsus and toes, including the claws, vetiver green.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 65.9-70.9
(68.5), tail 67.5-74.8 (71.7), culmen from base 14.1-16.4 (15.1),
tarsus 18.0-19.7 (18.9) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui), wing 64.4-69.2 (66.2), tail 65.4—
73.4 (69.2), culmen from base 13.9-15.9 (14.8), tarsus 18.8-19.5
(19.1) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the subtropical forests on Volcan
Baru, from 1200 to 1900 meters elevation, ranging west to the Costa
Rican boundary ; recorded eastward at Chitra, Veraguas.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 67
Male and female, taken at Chitra, February 13 and March 13,
1926, by R. R. Benson, are slightly darker than those from Chiriqui.
These properly are birds of forest or forest edge, but sufficiently
adaptable to range also in low or tall second growth, or in border
thickets. Less often they are seen in the tree crown in higher forest.
They are found alone, or in pairs in the nesting season (which ap-
pears to begin in February) ; rarely with the small flocks of forest
species that feed in company. They move quietly but actively, climb-
ing through masses of creepers or over small branches. In general
they are silent, only occasionally giving low, somewhat harsh calls.
On March 17, 1960, beyond the Quebrada Barriles, near the Rio
Chiriqui Viejo below El Volcan, I found a pair at a ball-shaped nest
swinging at the end of a creeper 10 meters from the ground in high
second growth. I had hoped that this was in use, but found it
empty, and so loosely made that it fell apart when I attempted to
collect it.
In the mountains of Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35,
1969, pp. 331-334) found two nests, both large rounded structures,
built of green moss, suspended from the ends of drooping branches
well elevated above the ground. Each had an entrance near the
bottom. Both members of the pair worked at nest-building, incuba-
tion, and subsequent care of the young. He was unable to reach the
nest to examine the eggs.
CRANIOLEUCA ERYTHROPS GRISEIGULARIS (Ridgway)
Acrochilus erythrops griseigularis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol.
22, April 17, 1909, p. 72. (San Antonio, 5800 feet, Rio Cali, Valle, Colombia. )
Characters.—Darker; crown deeper reddish brown, this color,
which forms a cap, extended slightly farther posteriorly to the upper
margin of the hindneck; central tail feathers somewhat more reddish
brown ; somewhat paler underneath.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién and western Colombia),
wing 64.6-71.0 (67.2), tail 62.3-67.7 (64.2, average of 9), culmen
from base 13.1-15.2 (14.2), tarsus 18.7-19.8 (19.2) mm.
Females (10 from western Colombia), wing 60.3-64.7 (63.3), tail
53.9-63.6 (60.1, average of 9), culmen from base 12.7-15.2 (14.5),
tarsus 18.1-19.2 (18.6) mm.
Resident. Known in Panama from two specimens, a male from
Cerro Mali at 1460 meters, and a female from Cerro Pirre at 1580
meters.
68 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
This little-known population of the Darién mountains was men-
tioned by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935, p. 338)
with the statement ‘‘Mt. Pirri, Darien (fide Chapman)” and no other
comment. This must refer to a female taken May 1, 1912, by E. A.
Goldman on Cerro Pirre, at 1580 meters elevation near the head of
Rio Limon. The collector, in a brief manuscript note, said of it
“only one shot in the top of a very tall tree.” The bird is in some-
what worn plumage with the central tail feathers in molt. There is
in addition a male sent to me by Dr. Pedro Galindo, taken on June 3,
1963, at 1460 meters on Cerro Mali, a spur of Cerro Tacarcuna,
Darién. The two specimens are slightly darker on the lower surface,
and also faintly darker on the back than rufigenis from Chiriqui and
Costa Rica. They are assigned to C. e. griseigularis Ridgway from
western Colombia, but with better material, may prove to be separable
as a distinct subspecies.
Alden Miller (Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 66, 1963, pp.
21-22) found a nest of this race at San Antonio, Valle, Colombia,
on March 17, 1958. This he described as “a bulky, hanging, covered
mass of vegetation on a hanging limb roughly a foot and a half in
diameter and 30 feet above the ground.” Oates and Reed (Cat. Coll.
Birds Eggs Brit. Mus., vol. 3, 1903, p. 177) list two eggs collected
by T. K. Salmon near Frontino, Antioquia, Colombia. These, ac-
cording to Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 14, 1967, p. 27) are white,
and measure 22.4 15.2, and 24.116.5 mm.
CRANIOLEUCA VULPINA DISSITA Wetmore: Rusty-backed
Spinetail, Coliaguda Rojiza
Cranioleuca vulpina dissita Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 134, no. 6,
July 8, 1957, p. 55. (Isla Coiba, Panama. )
Small, long-tailed and slender; russet brown above, buffy below,
side of head dull buff.
Description —Length 130-140 mm. Adult (sexes alike), spot on
either side of forehead behind the nostril, and lores white; crown
russet ; back and scapulars tawny; wings and tail russet; rump snuff
brown; narrow superciliary pinkish buff; sides of head dull cream-
buff, faintly streaked with dusky ; throat white; sides of neck, breast,
and abdomen light buffy brown; sides and flanks somewhat darker ;
under tail coverts tawny; under wing coverts and edge of wing
cinnamon-buff with edgings of tawny; inner webs of primaries and
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 69
secondaries dark mouse gray, edged widely toward base with dul!
tawny.
Measurements.—Males (3 specimens), wing 62.8-65.8 (64.1), tail
59.6-61.4 (60.3), culmen from base 14.0-15.4 (14.8), tarsus 17.2-
18.0 (17.7) mm.
Females (3 specimens), wing 61.6-62.4 (61.9), tail 58.2-60.3
(59.5), culmen from base 14.6-15.3 (15.1), tarsus 17.0-17.8 (17.4)
mm.
Resident. Fairly common, in forested areas on Isla Coiba.
During January and February 1956, I found these interesting
birds from the borders of the swampy woodlands along the lower
Rio Catival inland to the higher forest of the uplands, ranging
through the borders of thickets and in the forest up into the lower
branches below the high tree crown. They were seen singly, and
usually were difficult to find in the dense cover of leaves of the
forest tangles that they frequented. Their method of progression
was by climbing through the denser cover, at times up vertical tree
trunks (but without using the tail as a brace), rather than over the
more open branches, a method of movement for which their large,
strong feet are definitely suited. On the whole they were like the
Red-faced Spinetail, Cranioleuca erythrops rufigenis of the Sub-
tropical Zone forests of the Volcan de Chiriqui.
The general appearance is that of the forms now allocated under
the species name Cranioleuca vulpina (Pelzeln), found mainly in
Brazil, with two forms recorded north to the valley of the Orinoco
in Venezuela, and eastern Colombia. From these the bird of Isla
Coiba differs in brighter brown coloration on the lower surface.
While relationship to the vulpina group is evident, it is possible that
further information may demonstrate that the bird of far distant
Coiba is a separate species.
Two sets of three eggs each of the typical form Cranioleuca vulpina
vulpina in the U.S. National Museum were collected by Ernest G.
Holt at Conceigéo de Araguaya, southeastern Para, Brazil, No-
vember 15 and 17, 1926. The nests were irregular accumulations of
rootlets and other material placed in bushes on the river bank, one
20 centimeters in diameter, located a meter and a half above the
ground, the other 25 by 35 centimeters, elevated 4 meters or so.
The nest chambers were cavities in the lower portion of the mass,
“lined with finely shredded inner bark and a few lichens.” In each set
7O BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
one egg was fresh, the other two slightly incubated. The eggs are
plain white, without gloss, in form subelliptical, two in one set being
very slightly pointed at the small end. One set measures 20.2 x 15.8,
20.9 15.1, 21.3 15.9, the other in which one egg is slightly dam-
aged 20.4 15.9, and 20.7x15.6. There should be noted also the
account of Dr. Emilia Snethlage (Journ. f. Orn., 1935, pp. 541-542)
of eggs attributed to this nominate race found on the rio Tapajoz,
Brazil, that are described as “grunlich weisse.”’
XENERPESTES MINLOSI UMBRATICUS Wetmore:
Double-banded Soft-tail, Rabiblando Bifajeado
Xenerpestes minlost wnbraticus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 117,
no. 2, September 25, 1951, p. 4. (Punto Muchimbo, Rio San Juan, Valle,
Colombia. )
Small, dark above, with white line over eye, two white wing bars,
yellowish white below ; warblerlike in actions.
Description—Length 110-120 mm. Adult (sexes alike), fore
crown dull black, shading posteriorly to blackish mouse gray on the
hindneck, edged in the latter area with deep mouse gray; back and
scapulars dark olive-gray; rump and upper tail coverts light grayish
olive; primaries and secondaries sooty black, edged faintly with
sooty brown; wing coverts blackish mouse gray, the middle and
greater series tipped with white to form two white wing bars; middle
rectrices and outer webs of others deep olive-gray, the inner webs
of the latter deep mouse gray, the two outermost edged on the inner
web with pale olive-gray ; lores olive-buff; a narrow, but prominent,
superciliary line white ; side of head deep olive-buff, darker behind the
auricular area; below dull white, washed indistinctly with pale yellow ;
a few light flecks of dark neutral gray on the sides of the neck and of
the upper breast; under tail coverts olive-buff; bend of wing and
axillars Marguerite yellow; under wing coverts white; inner webs
of primaries edged with dull white.
Measurements.—Males (the type and another from Darien), wing
57.1-57.3. (57.2), tail 41.6-45.6 (43.6), culmen from base 13.4
(1 specimen), tarsus 15.3-16.0 (15.6) mm.
Females (2 from Darién), wing 52.5-54.9 (53.7), tail 42.2-42.6
(42.4), culmen from base 12.8-13.7 (13.2), tarsus 14.8-15.1
(14.9) mm.
Resident. Rare, known in Darién from the lower Tuira Valley, the
lower Rio Sambu, and Garachiné.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 71
The first record in Panama of this little-known bird is a female
taken by W. B. Richardson on the Rio Cupe at Cituro, a short
distance inland from Boca de Cupe, on May 7, 1915. This was listed
incorrectly by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935,
p. 338) from ‘““Tacarcuna,’” as Cituro is on the southern side of the
Tuira Valley toward the base of Cerro Pirre. On February 25, 1927,
Crosby and Griscom collected a pair near the head of tidewater on
the Rio Sambt. Griscom (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 282, 1927, p. 6)
wrote that the “two birds were with a flock of Warblers, small
Tanagers and Honey Creepers in a small flowering tree on the edge
of an Indian clearing, and were acting and feeding just like Warblers.”
Dawson Feathers, with the George Vanderbilt Expedition for the
Academy of Natural Sciences, collected one (of uncertain sex) at
Garachiné, Darién, April 20, 1941, “in low country, near the
ocean.”’ These are the records known at present.
The race, described from Punto Muchimbo, Valle, on the Rio San
Juan, ranges in western Colombia east to the Rio Sinu. It differs
from the nominate subspecies of eastern Colombia (described from
Bucaramanga, Santander) in decidely darker color on the upper
surface, especially on the head, where the light streaking on the fore
crown in the nominate race is faintly or not at all indicated. (For
other comments see Vaurie, Oiseau Rev. Francaise Orn., 1971,
p. 124).
MARGARORNIS BELLULUS Nelson: Beautiful Margarornis,
Trepador Bello
Margarornis bellulus Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3, September
24 (27), 1912, p. 12. (Head of Rio Limon, Cerro Pirre, Darién, Panama.)
A tree creeper of sparrow size, rusty brown, with white throat
and under surface heavily spotted with white.
Description Length 140-150 mm. Tail as in M. rubiginosus.
Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck dark olive-brown, each
feather edged with dull black; forehead spotted lightly with dull
white; back and lesser wing coverts dull reddish brown, with in-
distinct shaft lines of black; greater wing coverts, outer webs of
primaries and secondaries, rump, upper tail coverts, and tail rufous-
chestnut ; inner webs of primaries and secondaries and shafts dusky ;
concealed bases of inner primaries and secondaries cinnamon-rufous,
narrow superciliary dull white, changing to buff posteriorly; side of
72 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
head and ramal area dusky, lined more or less with white behind the
eye; throat and upper foreneck white; rest of under surface dull
reddish olive-brown, marked throughout by elongated spots of white
or very pale yellow, each bordered narrowly with black; proximal
half of under wing coverts dusky; distal half and edge of wing
dull white, mixed slightly with dusky.
A female, taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 27, 1964, had
the iris dark mouse brown; maxilla, except the cutting edge, fuscous-
brown; edge of maxilla and mandible pinkish neutral gray, paler and
more reddish on mandibular rami; tarsus dark brown, with the toes
and claws somewhat grayer.
Measurements.—Males (5 from Darién), wing 71.6-77.8 (74.7),
tail 65.1-71.0 (67.7), culmen from base 14.6-15.7 (15.0), tarsus
19.6-21.2 (20.1, average of 4) mm.
Females (3 from Darién), wing 73.1-74.9 (73.8), tail 66.5-69.0
(67.6), culmen from base 15.2-16.0 (15.7), tarsus 19.1-20.5
(19.7) mm.
Resident. Rare on the higher levels of Cerro Pirre and Cerro
Mali, Darién.
The four males and two females from which this little-known
bird was described were collected by E. A. Goldman on April 23
and May 1, 1912, at elevations of 1370 to 1580 meters near the head
of Rio Limon, on Cerro Pirre. A brief note by the collector on May 1
records that three were together in the top of a very tall tree,
and that another was taken on a tree trunk.
On June 5, 1963, Dr. Pedro Galindo collected a male at 1460 meters,
on Cerro Mali, near where that ridge joins the main mass of Cerro
Tacarcuna. On February 27, 1964, I caught a female near our camp
in a mist net set on this same ridge, at an elevation 30 meters lower.
The stomach of this individual (which was not in breeding stage)
was filled with finely ground remains of small insects.
Examination of the series of eight, now in the U.S. National
Museum, verifies the observations of Dr. Nelson in the original de-
scription, of the close resemblance of bellulus to Margarornis
squamiger perlatus of the higher levels of the Andes in Colombia.
The differences seen in the bird of Darién in duller reddish brown
above, and in reduction in number and size of the light spots on the
lower surface, are definite in comparison with the series of more than
50 perlatus now available. These include representation from the
northern area of the Cordillera Occidental in Colombia, where the
two populations have their nearest approach. The duller coloration
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 73
and reduced spotting in bellulus are so definite, and the geographic
separation by the broad area of the lowlands of the lower Atrato
Basin so complete, that the two, while allied, are best grouped under
separate species names, united in the bond of a superspecies.
MARGARORNIS RUBIGINOSUS Lawrence: Ruddy Margarornis,
Trepador Colorado
Small; reddish brown with white throat; often climb like wood-
peckers.
Description —Length 150-160 mm. Tail long, graduated, with tip
elongated, the projecting shafts flexible, and only slightly stiffened ;
outer rectrix about three-fourths the length of the central pairs.
Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck chestnut-brown; forehead
slightly paler; rest of upper surface, including most of wings and
tail, cinnamon-rufous; inner webs and tips of primaries dusky; side
of head, including malar region, wood brown; slightly marked buff
superciliary streak; chin and throat dull white; rest of under surface
cinnamon-buff, paler centrally, darker on sides and under tail coverts.
In the nominate race upper breast spotted with pale buffy white,
the spots minutely tipped with black; paler feathers of lower neck
and upper breast barred slightly with dusky; under wing coverts
buff, darker externally, slightly marked with dusky-brown; inner
webs of primaries and secondaries edged narrowly with ochraceous-
buff.
The species is one that is little known in Panama, where it is found
in the western mountains, with two subspecies recognized.
MARGARORNIS RUBIGINOSUS RUBIGINOSUS Lawrence
Margarornis rubiginosus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1865, p. 128. (San José, Costa Rica.)
Characters——Paler rufescent brown on back, wings, and tail;
crown somewhat duller ; under surface lighter, more grayish on center
of breast and sides; breast definitely spotted with white.
A female collected near 2400 meters elevation on the west face of
Volcan Baru, March 11, 1965, had the iris dark brown; base of
maxilla, including the nasal opercula, fuscous-brown; rest of maxilla
dull Verona brown, darker on the tip of the culmen ; mandible pinkish
white ; tarsus, toes, and claws dark grayish brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
74.2-79.0 (77.1), tail 71.8-79.1 (74.3), culmen from base 13.2-14.7
(13.9), tarsus 20.0-21.4 (20.5) mm.
74 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 73.6-77.2
(75.8), tail 70.5-78.8 (74.0, average of 9), culmen from base 13.0-
14.7 (13.9), tarsus 20.0-20.5 (20.2, average of 9) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in forested areas in the higher mountains
of western Chiriqui from the eastern side of the great volcano west
to the Costa Rican boundary.
In my few encounters I have found these quiet little birds in
heavy forest on the higher mountain slopes, ranging alone or oc-
casionally in pairs. Some have worked over dead leaves lodged among
parasitic plants, or through the mossy growth covering the branches.
Others have climbed up vertical tree trunks, with the tail braced,
woodpecker-fashion, as a support. In this they resemble wood-
creepers, though it will be noted that the tail tip is more flexible.
Their actions on the whole, however, except for this use of the tail,
are more those of a wren.
In Costa Rica, where they appear to be more common, Slud
(Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 203-204) has
found them at times moving in mixed bands of small forest birds.
Their calls, described as “thinly whistled,” or chipping, resemble
in general those of the other species that are their companions. They
range in Panama in the central highlands and along the Cordillera de
Talamanca. As they are found on the Caribbean slope, it is probable
that they will be encountered on the higher inland mountains of
30cas del Toro when these are better known.
MARGARORNIS RUBIGINOSUS BOULTONI Griscom
Margarornis rubiginosa boultont Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 141, October
31, 1924, p. 4. (Cerro Flores, 1675 meters, eastern Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters—Brighter, more rufous-brown above; head darker,
distinctly rufescent; lower surface brighter, more rufous; white
spotting on breast reduced in amount, or in some absent; slightly
smaller.
Measurements—Males (2 from Veraguas) wing 70.0, 72.8; tail
62.0, 67.2; culmen from base 13.5, 14.4; tarsus 19.6, 19.6 mm.
Females (6 from eastern Chiriqui and Veraguas), wing 69.6—72.0
(71.2), tail 64.5-72.7 (67.2), culmen from base 14.0-15.5 (14.7,
average of 5), tarsus 19.2-19.8 (19.6) mm.
Resident. Little known; found in the mountains of eastern
Chiriqui and Veraguas.
The race was described from two females collected at a high camp
on Cerro Flores, in eastern Chiriqui. The elevation given as ‘6000
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 75
feet” in the original description seems to be wrong as both the type
and the female taken with it have the labels marked 5,500 feet
(1675 meters). The race was named for Rudyerd Boulton, Griscom’s
companion on the expedition during which it was collected.
In the original description Griscom mentions a specimen in the
British Museum, a male, collected by Arcé in “the mountains back of
Calobre,” a specimen that I have examined. In February and March
1924, Benson secured a male and four females near Chitra, Veraguas,
at 1220 to 1340 meters elevation.
PREMNOPLEX BRUNNESCENS (Sclater): Spotted Barbtail,
Fafao Punteado
FIGURE 7
Margarornis brunnescens P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, June
16, 1856, p. 27, pl. 116. (Bogota, Colombia. )
Small, but rather robust; dark olive-brown, heavily spotted with
dull white to buff on under surface.
Description—Length 135-145 mm. Outer rectrix much less than
half the total length of the tail. Adult (sexes alike), crown and
hindneck olive to grayish olive, the feathers edged with dusky; fore-
head spotted or streaked with buff; rest of dorsal surface dull brown,
with faintly indicated edgings of dusky; upper back and scapulars
in some with shaft lines of pale buff; some also with the wing coverts
spotted with buff, tipped with black; wings somewhat more reddish
brown; tail dark dull brown, verging toward black; lores, and the
slightly marked superciliary line, buff; side of head dusky-gray lined
with pale buff; chin and throat deep buff, the feathers margined
lightly with dusky; rest of under surface olive, spotted and lined
heavily with buff to buffy white with dusky margins, the light mark-
ings largest on the center of the breast; under tail coverts more
reddish brown; under wing coverts pale buff to grayish white; a
slight cinnamon edging on inner webs of primaries and secondaries.
As a species this bird is widely distributed in mountain forests
from Costa Rica through Panama to Colombia, northern Venezuela,
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Through the present study, based on
larger series of specimens than available earlier, two forms are
recognized in Panama. Typical brunnescens, ranging in the Andes
of Colombia south to Peru, compared to the populations of Panama,
is darker above, with the crown more olive, the tail blacker, and the
76 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
rest of the dorsal surface darker brown. On the lower surface the
throat and the markings on the foreneck and breast are darker buff.
The Spanish name in the heading above is the one by which this
species is known in Venezuela.
The action of Vaurie (Classification Ovenbirds, 1971, pp. 13, 34)
Figure 7.—Spotted barbtail, fafao punteado, Premnoplex brunnescens.
in merging the genus Premnoplex with Margarornis needs further
study. In the wing not only are the primary feathers shorter, but
this same distinction holds in the supporting skeleton in the bones
of humerus, forearm, and hand, these being definitely weaker in
Premnoplex than in Margarornis rubiginosus and M. squamiger.
Body size also is less. It seems appropriate to continue use of
Premnoplex as a separate genus pending further information.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 77
PREMNOPLEX BRUNNESCENS BRUNNEICAUDA (Lawrence)
Margarornis brunneicauda Lawrence, Ann, Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
May 1865, p. 130 (in text). (Costa Rica.)
Premnoplex brunnescens distinctus Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 5. (Chitra, 4000 feet, Veraguas, Panama.)
Premnoplex brunnescens mnionophilus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol.
117, no. 2, September 25, 1951, p. 6. (Cerro Campana, Province of Panama,
Panama. )
Characters —Somewhat lighter, faintly less reddish brown above,
including the crown.
On the specimen label of a male in the British Museum ( Natural
History), taken at Cachi, above the Rio Reventazon, Costa Rica,
the collector, C. J. Lankester, noted the iris as dull brown; bill black;
feet fleshy horn.
Measurements—Males (18 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro,
Veraguas, and western Province of Panama), wing 60.5-67.4 (63.1),
tail 55.1-69.5 (60.3), culmen from base 14.6-16.4 (15.7), tarsus
18.9-20.0 (19.4, average of 17) mm.
Females (17 from Chiriqui, Veraguas and western Province of
Panama), wing 60.0-63.0 (61.5), tail 51.4-61.8 (57.8), culmen from
base 15.4-16.8 (16.0), tarsus 18.5-19.7 (19.3) mm.
Resident. Found in mountain forests, from western Chiriqui
(1200 to 2150 meters) east to the end of the mountain chain on
Cerro Campana (900 meters) ; reported on the Caribbean side on the
upper Rio Changuena (730 meters), Bocas del Toro, and Calovévora,
northern Veraguas.
I have seen these birds mainly in cloud forest or in dense, more
humid stands elsewhere, usually where branches and trunks were
grown with moss and epiphytes. While these are usual haunts the
birds are found also in more open stands, even occasionally in second
growth. In the higher levels three or four may move about with the
mixed bands of small birds frequent in tropical woodlands. Always
the barbtails are quiet and inconspicuous, not seeming especially
timid, but usually difficult to follow because of rough terrain. The
call is a low chipping note. In the trees they work along the smaller
branches, searching mouselike through growths of mosses and large
epiphytes, or they climb the vertical trunks, moving easily, aided by
the tail braced against the bark. In this the projecting tips of the
vanes, while flexible, are stiff enough to afford firm support. They
seem to range mainly over the lower branches rarely going into the
high tree crown. They may be caught occasionally in mist nets
near the ground.
78 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Dr. Alexander Skutch (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp.
64-67) gives an interesting account of a nest found in dense forest in
southern Costa Rica. The structure “composed of mosses, liverworts,
and fine, dark-colored rootlets’? was placed in the side of a rotting
log that had fallen across a small stream. A rounded entrance tube
(figured with the description) led upward to a chamber that held
two white eggs, examined through a small mirror illuminated by a
flashlight. Both parents were noted entering the nest, so that ap-
parently they shared in incubation. When in a few days the eggs
disappeared his observations came to an end. He included other
data made with Paul Schwartz in Venezuela, in which a related sub-
species was found at night sleeping in a nest of similar form.
Oates and Reid (Cat. Coll. Birds Eggs Brit. Mus., vol. 3, 1903,
p. 182) list an egg in the Crowley collection from Colombia that
is “closely elliptical in shape and devoid of gloss.’’ Schonwetter
(Handb. Ool., pt. 14, 1967, p. 30) gives its measurements as 21.6 X
16.8, and of another egg in the Nehrkorn collection as 21.0 X 16.5 mm.
These are listed as of the nominate form Premnoplex b. brunnescens.
With more extensive series for examination, and a clearer under-
standing of the slight variations found in shades of color (including
the foxing in older specimens), the variations on which subspecies
have been described from Veraguas and Cerro Campana now are
recognized as of only individual nature. The population that ranges
in the mountain chain from Costa Rica to terminate at the lowlands
in the center of the Isthmus is to be recognized as one geographic
race.
PREMNOPLEX BRUNNESCENS ALBESCENS Griscom
Premnoplex brunnescens albescens Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 5. (East slope, Cerro Tacarcuna, head of Rio Cuti, Choco,
Colombia. )
Characters.—Very slightly browner above; buff of throat faintly
paler.
A male taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 22, 1964, had the
iris brown; maxilla and cutting edge of mandible black; rest of
mandible very pale pinkish white; tarsus and toes fuscous; claws
fuscous-black.
Measurements.—Males (6 from Darién and northwestern Co-
lombia), wing 58.2-63.2 (60.0), tail 54.5-64.4 (57.1), culmen from
base 15.5-16.2 (15.8, average of 5), tarsus 18.8-19.9 (19.3) mm.
Females (7 from Darién and northwestern Colombia), wing 56.8—
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 79
64.0 (60.3), tail 48.8-58.5 (56.2), culmen from base 15.1-16.7
(16.2), tarsus 18.0-19.7 (18.9) mm.
Resident. Rare, on the higher slopes of Cerro Pirre, Cerro Mali,
and Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién.
This race was first collected by E. A. Goldman who secured four
males and three females at the head of Rio Limon on Cerro Pirre
from April to June, 1912, at elevations of 1370 to 1580 meters. His
notes record them as climbing the trunks of small trees. Between
April 3 and 13, 1915, H. E. Anthony secured four at 1400 meters
on the head of the Rio Cuti, on the eastern slope of Cerro Tacarcuna
across the boundary in Choco, Colombia, these serving as the base
for Griscom’s description. Pedro Galindo secured one on Cerro
Mali, a spur of Tacarcuna, in Darién on May 28, 1963. The follow-
ing year I collected male and female there on February 22 and 27.
Two others taken on February 14 and 18 by C. O. Handley, Jr.,
were preserved in formaldehyde. In the stomach of one of those
collected on Pirre by Goldman I found finely ground fragments of
Scarabaeid and Brenthid beetles, bits of ants and other hymenoptera,
roach egg cases, and spiders.
PSEUDOCOLAPTES LAWRENCII LAWRENCII Ridgway:
Lawrence’s Tufted-cheek, Coti Castano
Pseudocolaptes lawrencti Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 1, 1878 (1879?),
pp. 253, 254. (La Palma de San José, and Navarro, Costa Rica.)
Pseudocolaptes lawrencii panamensis Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 141,
October 31, 1924, p. 4. (Cerro Flores, 6000 feet elevation, eastern Chiriqui,
Panama. )
Size medium, brownish, with white throat, and a tuft of elongated
buffy feathers on either side of the neck. Adult (sexes alike), crown
dusky, streaked and tipped narrowly with pale brown; hindneck
similar but with streaking broader; back and scapulars tawny-brown
tipped faintly with dusky ; rump and upper tail coverts tawny-rufous ;
tail cinnamon-rufous, with feather shafts chestnut; lesser wing
coverts tawny-brown, with centers dusky ; middle and greater coverts
black, tipped with ochraceous; inner secondaries cinnamon-rufous ;
rest of secondaries and primaries black to brownish black, with the
outer webs edged indistinctly with cinnamon-rufous ; lores indistinctly
grayish white ; side of head dull black, lined narrowly with dull white ;
an indefinite buffy line behind eye; chin, throat, and side of neck
pale buff, feathers of the latter area distinctly elongated in a project-
ing tuft; lower foreneck and upper breast pale buff edged with dusky
80 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
or olive; lower breast and abdomen ‘dull buff, with the partly con-
cealed feather bases dull gray ; flanks and under tail coverts cinnamon-
brown; under wing coverts ochraceous-buff ; edge of wing buff ; inner
margins of wing feathers dull buffy white.
Immature, with crown and side of head black, or partly so; fore-
neck and breast more heavily marked with black; neck tuft, lower
breast, and abdomen cinnamon-buff; bill shorter, but nearly as long
as the head, with lower margin of mandible dull white, rest olive or
black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and
Costa Rica), wing 102.9-111.8 (107.7), tail 86.6-106.2 (94.6), culmen
from base 20.9-24.4 (22.4, average of 8), tarsus 25.9-28.0 (27.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 96.0—-101.0
(98.0), tail 84.8-93.5 (86.9), culmen from base 20.6-28.5 (24.0),
tarsus 25.1-26.7 (25.8) mm.
Resident. Rare and little known in the higher mountains of western
Panama from Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro to eastern Veraguas.
The first report for Panama is by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1870, p. 192) of one forwarded by Arcé, collected on the Cordillera
de Chuct, Veraguas, now in the British Museum, a male with the
date 1869. A second of the same sex in that collection, also taken
by Arcé, is marked ‘“Calobre,” Veraguas, 1870. The locality given,
which is in the lowlands east of San Francisco, is questionable, as
the bird is known only from the mountains. The species was re-
ported next by Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902,
p. 44), who received four specimens collected by W. W. Brown, Jr.,
on the slopes of the mountains above Boquete, at elevations of 1200
to 3125 meters. Griscom (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 141, 1924, p. 4) took
a male at 1825 meters on Cerro Flores, March 17, 1924. During
the period between 1932 and 1952 Tollef B. Monniche secured three,
one at Camp Cilindro at 1580 meters on the Holcomb Trail, across
the divide in Bocas del Toro, and two on Cerro Copete, in Chiriqui,
at above 3000 meters on the volcano (Blake, Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36,
1958, p. 530). The U.S. National Museum has one specimen, a
female, taken February 3, 1953, at 2133 meters on Cerro Copete, re-
ceived from Dr. Frank A. Hartman. Dr. E. Tyson informs me that
he saw these birds in 1965 at 2300 meters elevation on the western
slopes of Volcan Bart. Dr. Eisenmann has found it at 2100 meters
on the old trail from Cerro Punta to Boquete, working among the
epiphytes on high branches 30 meters or more above the ground.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 81
In Costa Rica the tufted-cheek seems to be more common, though
as yet little is known of its life history. M. A. Carriker, Jr., (Ann.
Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 638) wrote that the “tree-creeper is
found only at high altitudes, seldom if ever being taken below
6,000 feet. . . . It is most abundant on the high volcanoes for about
1,000 feet below timber-line . . . a very noisy bird, always chattering
and continually moving about in the trees. It is usually seen in pairs.”
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 204-205)
wrote that the “center of abundance of this species is in the upper
portion of the montane belt in the central highlands . . . Personally,
I found the bird common only at the base of the crater on Turrialba
Volcano. Its numbers diminish rapidly with decreasing elevation, and
the bird is quite uncommon if not rare in the lower montane belt.”.
He saw them “at the borders of woodland and frequenting the trees
. in the parklike pastures. . . . It creeps along the under sides
of limbs like a woodhewer, and it specializes in rummaging the masses
of epiphytes that help give the montane cloud forests their fantastic
appearance.”
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, pp. 327-330) in the high
mountains of Costa Rica describes the call as “several sharp notes
followed by a low clear trill that becomes slower and ends with well-
spaced stronger notes.’ He found a nest about 9 meters from the
ground in an old woodpecker hole in a dead trunk so decayed that
he was not able to examine the eggs. As incubation progressed the
single bird in attendance continued to bring in plant material to add
to the nest lining.
An egg in the British Museum (Natural History) from Irazu,
Costa Rica, without other data, is dull white, subelliptical in form,
with measurements of 24.8 x 19.3 mm.
With the larger number of specimens now available than to
Griscom in 1924, I find that characters on which he separated birds
of eastern Chiriqui and Veraguas as a race, panamensis, are those
of individual variation. It seems appropriate to consider the closely
similar lawrencii of southern Central America and boissonneauti of
northwestern South America as a superspecies, with two species
under the two names mentioned. The suggestion of Zimmer (Amer.
Mus. Nov., no. 862, 1936, p. 3) that Pseudocolaptes johnsoni Lonn-
berg and Rendahl, described from Ecuador (Ark. Zool., vol. 14,
1922, p. 69), be listed as a race of lawrencit which it seems to re-
semble, may be accepted pending further information.
82 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
HYLOCTISTES SUBULATUS (Spix): Striped Leaf-gleaner,
Hojarasquero Listado
Sphenura subulata Spix, Av. Spec. Nov. Bras., vol. 1, 1824, p. 82, pl. 83, fig. 1.
(Amazon River.)
Medium size; similar to the Lineated Leaf-gleaner but bill larger,
longer than tarsus; throat and upper foreneck cinnamon-buff.
Description.—Length 165-180 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper sur-
face dark dull brown to blackish brown; crown and hindneck sooty
black, striped prominently with light brown, each feather with a shaft
line of pale buff (in the darker race of western Panama the light
streaking continued on the upper back) ; wings rufescent brown ; lower
back, tail, and upper tail coverts rufous-chestnut ; sides of head dusky,
streaked with dull buff; chin and throat buff, the feathers in part
edged with dusky, especially on the lower throat; rest of foreneck,
breast, and abdomen buffy olive, in some more or less streaked in-
distinctly with dull buff ; under tail coverts wholly or partly cinnamon
to cinnamon-buff; under wing coverts and edge of wing cinnamon-
buff; inner webs of primaries and secondaries pale cinnamon-buff.
These are forest birds, the species being widely distributed from
eastern Nicaragua through Costa Rica and Panama. Beyond, it is
found in northern South America through Colombia and western
Venezuela to Ecuador, eastern Perti and eastward in Brazil in the
upper Amazon Valley. Two distinct subspecies are found in Panama,
one in the west and one in the east. Neither is common, and the
birds are little known. As their general appearance suggests that of
the somewhat larger Automolus ochrolaemus they may be confused
with that more common species which lives in the same haunts.
The species was not recorded in the early collections made by
McLeannan and Arce.
HYLOCTISTES SUBULATUS VIRGATUS (Lawrence)
Philydor virgatus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1867, p.
468. (Angostura, Costa Rica.)
Characters —Darker, distinctly streaked with buff to buffy white,
narrowly on crown, hindneck, and back, more broadly on the lower
foreneck and breast.
A male in the British Museum (Natural History) collected at
La Cristina, Costa Rica, February 10, 1907, by C. H. Lankester, has
the following data on the label: “Iris brown; bill dusky horn; feet
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 83
olivaceous.” In museum specimens the lower surface of the mandible
usually is dull buffy white.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Veraguas,
and Coclé), wing 81.9-86.4 (83.6), tail 64.8-69.3 (67.2), culmen
from base 22.4-27.0 (24.5), tarsus 20.0-21.8 (20.7, average of
9) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and
Veraguas), wing 79.7-82.9 (80.8), tail 63.5-68.4 (65.7), culmen
from base 23.3-25.3 (24.3), tarsus 20.0-21.6 (20.8) mm.
Resident. Rather rare on the Pacific slope in western Chiriqui,
Veraguas, and southern Coclé; on the Caribbean side in Bocas del
Toro and northern Veraguas.
In Panama this race is rather widely distributed in the Tropical
Zone, but nowhere has it been reported common. The first record
for the Republic is a male from Nata, Coclé, taken December 11,
1888, by H. T. Heyde and Ernesto Lux. Their original label has the
notation ‘open wood.” This record, published by Ridgway (U.S.
Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, p. 200), was the basis for inclusion
of this race in Panama by Griscom and others.
In Chiriqui, H. J. Watson took three at Bugaba, in October and
November, 1903. I collected a pair on February 23, 1955, on the
Quebrada Candela, 5 kilometers east of Sereno on the Costa Rican
boundary, at 1125 meters in gallery forest, where they were in com-
pany with a scattered group of several kinds of small forest birds.
While most of the company were searching through leaves, mainly
on the outer branches, the pair of leaf-gleaners examined the
epiphytes on the tree trunks and larger limbs, digging out dead leaves
and other bits of trash in their search for food. One worked at one
airplant for some time, cleaning out the miscellany that had lodged
amid the leaves. Another record is of a female given to me by Dr.
F. A. Hartman, taken by one of his collectors February 11, 1960, in
heavy forest at 1525 meters on Cerro Pando, above the Rio Chiriqui
Viejo. Two were collected near Santa Fé, Veraguas, by R. R. Ben-
son, in February and March 1925.
From the Caribbean side there is a specimen in the American
Museum of Natural History, taken by Horace Loftin at Almirante,
Bocas del Toro, October 17, 1965; and four males and two females
taken by Benson at the Rio Calovévora, eastern Boca del Toro, from
August 26 to September 14, 1926. This area seems to be the only one
where the race has been found in numbers.
84 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
HYLOCTISTES SUBULATUS CORDOBAE de Schauensee
Hyloctistes subulatus cordobae de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
Notulae Naturae, no. 332, June 17, 1960, p. 1. (Cerro Murucuct, 1500 meters,
Cordoba, Colombia. )
Characters——Grayer above, less rufescent brown; back without
streaks ; crown with streaks less definite; under surface paler, with
streaking less sharply marked.
Measurements——Males (5 from eastern Province of Panama,
Darién, and northwestern Colombia), wing 82.1-88.1 (85.5), tail
63.8-71.0 (69.0), culmen from base 23.5-26.4 (24.4), tarsus 20.5-
21.4 (20.9) mm.
Females (4 from Darién, Colén, and San Blas), wing 80.7-82.3
(81.5), tail 61.0-64.6 (62.3), culmen from base 19.0-24.7 (22.5),
tarsus 20.3-21.4 (20.9) mm.
Resident. Rare. Known from specimens taken in eastern Colon,
eastern Province of Panama, and Darién.
The first report of this forest species is of two females collected
June 5, 1911, by E. A. Goldman, in a thicket on the Rio Cascajal on
the north base of Cerro Bruja, eastern Colon. A male in the Academy
of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia was taken on the Fifth George
Vanderbilt Expedition on Cerro Sapo, Darién, in April 1941. I col-
lected one at Jaqué, Darién, April 7, 1946, and another that flew
into a mist net on the Rio Tacarcuna at the site of the old village
on the base of Cerro Mali March 10, 1964. The latter was among
other small birds in attendance on a raiding column of ants. Griscom
received one from Hasso von Wedel, from Ranchon in eastern San
Blas. These are the available records to the present.
The type locality, given as “Murucuct” in the original descrip-
tion, appears to refer to Cerro Murucuct, located east of the Rio
Sint, in southern Cordoba, northwestern Colombia.
SYNDACTYLA SUBALARIS (Sclater): Lineated Leaf-gleaner,
Hojarasquero Rayado
FIiGurRE 8
Anabates subalaris P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27, August 1859,
p. 141. (Pallatanga, Ecuador.)
Medium size; similar to the Striped Leaf-gleaner but bill smaller,
shorter than tarsus; throat and upper foreneck pale buff.
Description Length 170-195 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck blackish brown, with very narrow shaft lines of buffy
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 85
brown; back and wings dull brown to olive-brown, the back lined nar-
rowly with shaft lines of white to dull white; outer webs of primaries
dull chestnut-brown; rump, upper tail coverts, and tail chestnut-ru-
fous ; side of head and neck dusky, streaked with pale buffy white ; chin
and upper throat buffy yellow; under surface dull brown to grayish
Figure 8.—Lineated leaf-gleaner, hojarasquero rayado, Syndactvla
subalaris.
brown, the under tail coverts more rufescent, streaked narrowly
with dull white, the streaking broader on foreneck and breast, re-
duced to narrow lines on abdomen; under wing coverts and inner
margins of primaries and secondaries cinnamon-buff.
Juvenile, similar in general to adult in markings, but colors much
brighter, with greater contrast in pattern; crown and_ hindneck
blacker, with the slight, narrow streaks cinnamon; rest of upper
surface more reddish brown; rump, tail, and wings as in adult ; malar
86 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
streak black, spotted with dull white; foreneck, side of neck and
center of breast cinnamon, with very narrow shaft lines of buffy
white ; sides, flanks, and abdomen warm brown; under tail coverts
cinnamon-brown; under wing coverts bright cinnamon, but wing
edgings on under surface as in adult. The bill is definitely shorter
than in the mature bird.
This is a species of mountain forests, found in Costa Rica and
western Panama, in Darién, and in the Andes from Colombia, south
to Ecuador and Pert, including the mountain areas of western
Venezuela.
Two distinct races are recognized in Panama, one in Chiriqui, the
other in Darién.
SYNDACTYLA SUBALARIS LINEATA (Lawrence)
Anabazenops lineatus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1865,
p. 127. (Angostura, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Lighter, brighter brown above; decidedly lighter,
more greenish brown on under surface; chin and upper throat darker
buff ; larger.
A male in the British Museum, taken by C. H. Lankester at Cachi,
Costa Rica, May 8, 1912, has the following data on the label: “‘iris
brown, bill black, ochraceous on gonys, feet yellowish olive.”
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 90.0—
94.6 (92.4), tail 80.0-92.5 (85.5), culmen from base 20.7-—22.0
(21.3), tarsus 22.2-23.8 (22.9) mm.
Females (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 83.7-89.0 (86.9), tail
77.0-83.0 (80.3), culmen from base 20.6-22.3 (21.2), tarsus 21.8-
20. (22.6) sm:
Resident. Fairly common in Subtropical Zone forests on the Pacific
slope, in western Chiriqui from 1580 to 2130 meters, and in Veraguas
(Santa Fé, Chitra) ; recorded also from Calovévora on the Caribbean
side in northern Veraguas.
They are found singly or in pairs, at times with the scattered
flocks of small forest birds that feed in company. With active move-
ment they range from the undergrowth to the high tree crown, climb-
ing alertly over vines and along the tree limbs, moving quickly to
cling to the sides or undersurface of twigs and larger branches. In
the course of such activities they may hang briefly, braced with tail
pressed against the branch, while they pull out dead leaves lodged
among epiphytes, in search of the insects that form their food. Less
frequently I have found them in small clearings in the forest, feeding
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 87
through low, weedy growth immediately above the ground. They are
mainly silent, the usual notes being clicking sounds without much
force or character.
The record from Calovévora, northern Veraguas, is based on speci-
mens in the British Museum taken by Arcé (see Salvin, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1870, p. 192). Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-
Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 163) list it also from Calobre, Veraguas,
a lowland record that is questionable.
SYNDACTYLA SUBALARIS TACARCUNAE (Chapman)
Xenicopsis subalaris tacarcunae Chapman, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 86, August 28,
1923, p. 16. (Head of Rio Cuti, 1400 meters, east slope of Cerro Tacarcuna,
Choco, Colombia. )
Characters.—Darker, more olive, less reddish brown above; grayer
on lower surface; chin and throat paler, more yellow; smaller.
A male, taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 22, 1964, had the
iris dark reddish brown; maxilla fuscous-black; extreme tip of
mandible and a line covering upper half, becoming broader on the
rami, dusky neutral gray; rest pale dull greenish white; gape honey
yellow ; tarsus and toes dull green; claws dusky neutral gray, paler
at the tip.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Cerro Pirre and Cerro Mali,
Darién), wing 84.2-89.4 (87.6), tail 73.2-80.5 (76.8), culmen from
base 20.2-22.1 (20.6), tarsus 22.2-23.0 (22.6) mm.
Females (10 from Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién),
wing 81.3-89.1 (84.6), tail 71.3-79.1 (74.7), culmen from base
19.7-21.5 (20.7), tarsus 22.0-23.6 (22.7) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the Subtropical Zone forests of
Darién; recorded on Cerro Pirre between 1220 and 1580 meters,
and Cerro Mali and Cerro Tacarcuna from 1400 to 1460 meters;
ranging on the eastern slope into northern Choco, Colombia.
Like the western race, these are active birds that range from the
top branches of the undergrowth to the lower tree crown. Once I saw
one climbing a vertical tree trunk, woodpecker fashion, bracing with
the tail so that I thought that it was a woodcreeper until I had it in
hand. Those collected had eaten insects. On Cerro Pirre, E. A.
Goldman in April 1912 found them rather common, ranging from
bamboo thickets near the ground to the larger limbs of the trees above.
A male taken April 23 was in breeding condition. In a brief memo-
randum he refers to their “rather harsh rattling notes.”
88 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ANABACERTHIA VARIEGATICEPS (Sclater) : Scaly-throated
Leaf-gleaner, Hojarasquero Serrano
Anabazenops variegaticeps P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, 1856
(January 26, 1857), p. 289, (Cordoba, Veracruz, México.)
Xenicopsis variegaticeps idoneus Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19,
July 30, 1906, p. 108. (Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Rather small, plain brown above, with lightly streaked crown and
cinnamon-buff superciliary; throat and upper foreneck yellowish
buff.
Description —Length 145-160 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck grayish olive, with narrow shaft lines of dull white, and
edgings of dusky; back and scapulars brown; rump somewhat more
buffy ; wings somewhat more russet ; tail chestnut ; lores dusky to dark
gray, whiter immediately in front of eye; eye-ring and superciliary
cinnamon-buff; auricular region dusky, streaked on lower portion
with dull buffy white; an indistinct malar streak; chin and throat
yellowish buff; the feathers on lower throat margined narrowly with
dusky ; rest of under surface buffy brown, in some with broad, very
faintly indicated pale buff streaks; flanks darker brown; distal under
tail coverts in males faintly more rufescent; under wing coverts,
axillars and edge of wing ochraceous-buff ; edgings of inner webs of
primaries and secondaries slightly duller.
A male, taken at El Volcan, Chiriqui, February 27, 1965, had the
iris brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous; rest of mandible
dull greenish becoming yellow at extreme base; tarsus dull olive-
green ; toes, including claws, dull yellowish green.
A female from the same locality, collected March 1, 1954, had the
iris dark brown; maxilla fuscous ; mandible pale dull greenish; basal
half of cutting edge of maxilla and a line on the lower edge of the
mandibular ramus honey yellow; tarsus and toes dull yellowish green.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 84.5-92.2 (88.3),
tail 66.7-72.2 (70.0), culmen from base 17.5-18.9 (18.0), tarsus
19.0-19.9 (19.6) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui) wing 79.0-81.3 (80.1), tail 61.2-68.3
(65.3), culmen from base 16.8-18.5 (17.5), tarsus 18.1-19.5
(18.8) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the upper Tropical and Subtropical
zones in the mountains of western Chiriqui, from 1250 to 1900
meters.
Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935, p. 339) listed
this species from Chiriqui and Veraguas, the latter in error as it is
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 89
known in Panama only from western Chiriqui. The record by Salvin
and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 162) for
Bibalaz, a locality near Bugaba, may also be questioned as this is in
the lowlands.
In my brief encounters with this species I have found them climb-
ing up and over heavy vines when in appearance and action they re-
sembled- Xenops. They seemed to move rather slowly, giving low
calls.
I have found no account of their nesting.
This mountain inhabitant is found from Veracruz south through
Central America to western Chiriqui. As noted in the description the
definitely streaked crown and cinnamon-buff superciliary separate
it clearly from A. striaticollis and its races of South America in which
the crown is plain and the superciliary dull yellow. In view of this,
and of the wide gap in their ranges it seems appropriate to regard
the two as separate species.
PHILYDOR ERYTHROCERCUS (Pelzeln) : Rufous-rumped
Leaf-gleaner, Hojarasquero Rabadillirufo
Anabates erythrocercus Pelzeln, Sitzungsb. Kais. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-
naturwiss. Cl., vol. 34, 1859, pp. 105, 128. (Manaus, Brazil.)
Of medium size; crown grayish brown, back brownish, tail cin-
namon; a prominent light-colored superciliary; side of neck rufous.
Description—Length 165-180 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
dusky-brown, bordered by a pale buff superciliary that becomes
rufous-cinnamon behind the eye, and merges with a band of the same
color on the side of the neck; an indistinct nuchal band of the same
color; back dull buffy brown; wings dusky; rump, upper tail coverts,
and tail rufous; side of head dusky, streaked with dull buff; chin and
upper throat pale buff changing to pale olive-buff on foreneck, ex-
tending thus to abdomen; sides and flanks dull cinnamon-brown ;
under tail coverts brighter, more cinnamon-rufous; under wing
coverts and axillars pale cinnamon.
Immature, crown chestnut-brown; hindneck, back, and scapulars
chestnut ; rump and upper tail coverts rufous-chestnut ; tail chestnut-
rufous; chin and throat buff to cinnamon-buff; rest of under surface
tawny-ochraceous.
The species is one of wide range, extending from west-central
Panama through Colombia, Ecuador, eastern Pert, and northeastern
Bolivia to northern Brazil; found also in Guyana, Surinam, and
French Guiana (not recorded in Venezuela). In Panama two races
go BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
are recognized, one, little known, in Veraguas and Coclé, and one in
eastern Panama.
In the examination of these birds it should be remembered that
immature individuals in more rufous colors differ decidedly from
the adults. In the considerable number seen, many also have had
wing and tail not quite fully grown so that they do not give useful
measurements.
PHILYDOR ERYTHROCERCUS FUSCIPENNIS Salvin
Philydor fuscipennis Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, May 1866, p. 72. (San-
tiago, Veraguas. )
Characters —Darker, more rufescent above, more cinnamon-brown
on under surface.
Measurements——Males (4 from Veraguas and Coclé) wing 89.2-
90.0 (89.7), tail 66.0-69.0 (67.6), culmen from base 18.4-19.7 (19.1),
tarsus 20.2-20.7 (20.4, average of 3) mm.
Females (2 from Veraguas), wing 83.3-84.1 (83.7), tail 63.2-
64.4 (63.8), culmen from base 19.3-19.8 (19.5), tarsus 19.4-19.4
(19.4) mm.
Resident. Rare, recorded in Veraguas, from near Santiago and
Chitra on the Pacific slope, and from the Rio Calovévora to northern
Coclé on the Caribbean side.
The type specimen in the British Museum (Natural History) col-
lected by Enrique Arcé was recorded in the original description only
as from ‘“Veragua” (this being the only locality on the label). In the
introduction to the paper including the original description, Salvin
wrote that during “‘the past year two collections were forwarded to
Mr. Godman and myself by Enrique Arcé from Veragua. One
was made near Santiago de Veraguas, and the other near a small
village called Santa Fé. . . . Arcé is now at Chiriqui, and I trust ere
long to receive a collection from that district.”” The following year
Salvin (idem, 1867, pp. 129-160) gave a full account of these three
early collections. In the introduction he wrote of them that the
“first and largest was from a village called Santa Fé, which is
described as situated twelve leagues on the Panama side of Santiago
the capital of Veragua; the next was from the neighbourhood of
Santiago itself; and the third from a district beyond Santiago,”
which was from the Cordillera de Tolé. In this account (p. 143)
fuscipennis is listed from “Santiago de Veragua.”
The type was the basis of all further accounts until Ridgway (U.S.
Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, pp. 204-205) included a second record from
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE gI
Cascajal, Coclé, from a male collected by H. Th. Heyde and Ernesto
Lux on March 3, 1889. On the back of the label is the notation
“Trides dark brown,” the date, and “found: virgin forest.”
In the American Museum of Natural History there is a specimen
received from the taxidermist and collector J. H. Batty, without date,
marked as taken at Chitra, Veraguas, by Arcé. The sex, marked as
female, from the measurements is probably male. The preparation
resembles that of Arcé. Two other specimens in this Museum, both
males, were collected by Benson and Gaffney on the Rio Calovévora
on the Caribbean slope of northern Veraguas August 18 and 31,
1926.
PHILYDOR ERYTHROCERCUS ERYTHRONOTUS Sclater and
Salvin
Philydor erythronotus Sclater and Salvin, Nomencl. Av. Neotrop., 1873, pp. 66,
160. (Bogota, Colombia. )
Characters.—Decidedly paler above; anterior half of superciliary
line lighter, buffy white; tail paler, more rufous; under surface of
body paler, with sides, flanks, and under tail coverts lighter in color.
A female, collected March 6, 1964, at 575 meters elevation near the
old Tacarcuna village site on the Rio Tacarcuna, had the iris dark
wood brown; maxilla fuscous-black; rami and cutting edge of
mandible dusky neutral gray; gonys and rest of lower surface of
mandible dull yellowish white.
Measurements——Males (10 from Darién), wing 90.0-95.8 (91.8),
tail 67.4-73.2 (69.4), culmen from base 18.4-19.8 (19.1), tarsus
19.0-20.5 (20.0) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama and Darién), wing
80.4-83.4 (82.1), tail 59.8-66.7 (63.7), culmen from base 17.1-18.8
(18.2), tarsus 18.6-20.2 (19.4) mm.
Resident. Recorded locally on the Pacific side from the higher
elevations of Cerro Azul, in the upper Tuira Valley, and on Cerro
Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién; on the Caribbean slope in the
Chagres Valley above Gamboa, and in eastern San Blas.
The first report for Panama was a female taken by E. A. Goldman
near 750 meters on Cerro Azul, eastern Province of Panama,
March 26, 1911. The following year he found this bird common near
Cana on Cerro Pirre, Darién, where he secured a series of 10
specimens.
A series in the American Museum of Natural History was col-
lected from March to May, 1915, by W. B. Richardson, one of the
92 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
party under the leadership of Harold Anthony, in the upper Tuira
Valley at Tapalisa, Cituro, and the old Tacarcuna village site at the
base of Cerro Tacarcuna. Barbour and Brooks took one on the Rio
Esnape, Darién, April 3, 1922. Griscom received several from eastern
San Blas, taken by Wedel near Ranchon and Puerto Obaldia.
In my own studies I found the Rufous-rumped Leaf-gleaner first at
600 meters on Cerro Azul March 31, 1949. On Cerre Pirre in late
January and early February 1961, it was common at 460 meters in the
upper valley of the Rio Seteganti, and on March 6, 1964, I took one
at 575 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna.
These are birds of the heavy forests where they range rather low,
climbing actively over branches, particularly those that are broken
and dead, to search among the epiphytes. While their method of
climbing may suggest that of a woodpecker, they are quicker and
more active in much of their movement. To the eyes of a naturalist
trained in the north they seemed completely strange, unlike any
northern species.
The stomachs of three from Cana, preserved by Goldman, I found
crammed with a variety of small insects, and a few remains of spiders
and their eggs. The insects taken included roaches, and their eggs,
bits of a wasp, a pentatomid, a caterpillar skin, and numerous beetles
of a variety of species.
PHILYDOR RUFUS RUFESCENS (Lawrence): Buff-fronted
Leaf-gleaner, Hojarasquero Anteado
Automolus rufescens Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1866,
p. 345. (Birris, Province of Cartago, Costa Rica.)
Of medium size; decidedly light rufescent brown throughout ; side
of head, superciliary, and throat ochraceous.
Description—Plumage plain, without streaks. Length 180-200
mm. Adult (sexes alike), forehead dull cinnamon changing to buffy
grayish brown on crown and hindneck; back and scapulars tawny-
brown ; rump and upper tail coverts lighter, more buffy ; tail cinnamon-
rufous; wings the same, with primary coverts dull russet, and tips
of primaries dusky; superciliary line, side of head and of upper
neck and throat ochraceous, with the auricular region darker brown
to dusky ; rest of under surface duller ochraceous, darker and browner
on flanks and under tail coverts; under wing coverts and inner webs
of primaries and secondaries ochraceous-buff.
Specimens in the American Museum of Natural History, collected
in Costa Rica by Austin Paul Smith, have colors noted on the labels
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 93
as follows: A male from Navarrito, July 5, 1920, iris dark, maxilla
dark, mandible pale plumbeous, tarsus olive-green. A female from
Navarro, October 21, 1920, iris dark, maxilla dark, mandible pale
plumbeous, tarsus olive.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
99,5-104.5 (101.0), tail 83.0-90.5 (86.5, average of 9), culmen from
base 19.9-22.0 (21.2), tarsus 23.5-24.8 (24.2) mm.
Females (3 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 92.4-96.6 (94.2),
tail 82.3-87.8 (84.5), culmen from base 20.4-21.3 (20.9), tarsus
23.4-24.4 (23.8) mm.
Resident. Rare in the higher mountain forests of western Chiriqui,
and the adjacent Caribbean slope in Bocas del Toro, from 1650 to
2130 meters.
The first report in Panama for this little known species is a speci-
men in the British Museum received in the Salvin-Godman collection
labeled ‘Isthmus of Panama (ex H. Whitely).’’ The preparation
of the skin resembles that of E. Arcé. Von Berlepsch (Proc. U.S.
Nat. Mus., vol. 11, 1888, p. 565) mentions “‘a specimen from Veragua
[ =Chiriqui] in my collection,” possibly from the same source. Bangs
(Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 44) received male
and female, collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., in 1901 above Boquete
in March, and on the Caribbean slope of the volcano in June. Blake
(Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, pp. 530-531) listed two males and a
female from above Boquete, taken at Alto de Chiquero March 13,
Velo, October 2, and Lérida, October 17.
In Costa Rica the species is somewhat better known though
apparently far from common. Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 128, 1964, p. 206) said of it “this seldom-seen species inhabits the
cool and wet middle altitudes, mostly the Caribbean slopes of the
central highlands, also the Dota region. ... It ranges vertically
from the upper half of the subtropical belt, or lower in cloud-forested
pockets, to the upper limit of the lower montane belt.
“This ovenbird is strictly arboreal, usually keeping well above the
ground in forest, along its borders, or at breaks in the mountain
terrain. I have seen it, as a rule, singly, the only one of its kind in a
traveling mixed flock ; I have one observation of an individual forag-
ing alone. An action bird, it searches limbs energetically. . . . Oc-
casionally I heard it make single-note cries.”
The nest of the species Philydor rufus does not appear to have
been described, nor have I seen an account of the nesting of the race
found in Panama. Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., Lief. 14, 1967, p. 31)
94 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
lists eggs of two related subspecies of South America of about the
same size. A set of two of Philydor rufus columbianus in the
Kreuger collection from Venezuela measure 21.0-25.7 x 16.0-17.6
mm. (While listed from “Maracay” which is in the lowlands, it is
presumed that they were collected in the highlands of the Cordillera
de la Costa, where the race columbianus is known to nest.) Four
eggs of the more southern race in South America Philydor rufus
rufus measure 22.8-24.4 x 17.0-18.0 mm. The eggs are white.
AUTOMOLUS RUBIGINOSUS (Sclater) : Ruddy Leaf-gleaner,
Hojarasquero Garganticanelo
Anabates rubiginosus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, 1856
(January 26, 1857), p. 288. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México.)
Medium size; crown rufescent, throat cinnamon.
Description Length 185-205 mm. Adult (sexes alike), dark
above, crown and hindneck dark chestnut or dusky-maroon; back
and scapulars dark tawny-brown, or maroon-brown; wings more
rufescent; rump and upper tail coverts rufous-chestnut or dusky-
maroon; tail chestnut or black; side of head brownish chestnut,
auricular area grayer; chin, throat, and upper breast dark cinnamon-
rufous, or chestnut, with the throat feathers appearing paler because
of the white feather bases; rest of underparts cinnamon-tawny to
olive, darker on the sides and flanks, with under tail coverts rufous
to chocolate; under wing coverts and inner webs of primaries and
secondaries cinnamon-rufous.
These are birds of the more humid mountain forests found from
México through Central America and northern South America to
Pert, southern Venezuela and French Guiana. They are nowhere
common, and are little known.
Their range is not continuous, and as they vary widely geographi-
cally in depth of color, numerous forms have been recognized. Two
of these are found in Panama, one of a general dark reddish brown
color in western Chiriqui, and the other, much blacker, on Cerro Pirre
and Cerro Tacarcuna, in Darién.
AUTOMOLUS RUBIGINOSUS FUMOSUS Salvin and Godman
Automolus fumosus Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, July
1891, p. 158. (Bibalaz, south base of Volcan de Chiriqui, Chiriqui, Panama.)
Automolus xanthippe M. E. McLellan Davidson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
vol. 45, September 27, 1932, p. 167. (Barriles, 1200 meters, Chiriqui, Panama.)
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 95
Characters——Crown maroon-brown, back tawny-brown, wings
darker: throat cinnamon-rufous; breast and abdomen cinnamon-
tawny.
M easurements.—Males (4 from Chiriqui), wing 91.5-95.1 (93.2),
tail 78.7-82.3 (81.2), culmen from base 26.1-27.6 (27.0, average
of 3), tarsus 27.4-28.1 (27.8) mm.
Females (3 from Chiriqui), wing 84.0-84.7 (84.2), tail 75.8-78.2
(76.8), culmen from base 26.8-27.3 (26.9), tarsus 26.4-27.7
(26.9) mm.
Resident. Rare in Subtropical Zone forests on the southern and
western base of Volcan Chiriqui.
This well-marked form, definitely darker than the populations of
farther north in Central America, is one that is known from few
records.
The type, and for a period the only known specimen, was taken by
Enrique Arcé in the last of the collections that he made for Salvin, at
Bibalaz on the southern base of the great voleano. At this period
Arcé’s activities centered around Bugaba (below Concepcion). As
the bird is one of the Subtropical Zone it is supposed to have come
from the higher country to the north of Concepcion. The type speci-
men, which I have examined in the British Museum, is marked as a
male, but from the wing measurement of 83.3 mm apparently was a
female. Griscom in 1935 knew of only four specimens.
Mrs. M. E. McLellan Davidson (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
1932, p. 167) collected a female January 28, 1931, at Barriles, near
the Rio Chiriqui Viejo in Chiriqui, which through lack of comparative
material she believed was distinct and so named it santhippe, as
indicated in the heading above. The next report was of a male col-
lected by Dr. Frank Hartman, taken February 24, 1949, on Cerro
Pando, beyond FE] Volcan, west of the Rio Chiriqui Viejo. In work
in this area in March 1954, I had occasional glimpses of them but
they were shy so that it was March 7 before I secured my only speci-
men, a male. The birds ranged low down in undergrowth in the
forest, their presence known from their curious whistled call,
ka-kweek, a note easily imitated. They seemed curious and regularly
came near, but always under cover of leaves so they were hidden.
They were heard on several occasions here and also farther west at
Santa Clara through the rest of the month, but we were never able
to see another. The following year I heard the calls on February 10,
in dense cover along the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, and again on February 17
near Santa Clara, but from birds that remained concealed in heavy
96 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
cover. Clearing of undergrowth was proceeding rapidly in these areas
and in subsequent years I was unable to find others.
My notes record that the dorsal pterylosis showed a distinct
rhomboidal expansion in the center of the back that was without break
in the center.
AUTOMOLUS RUBIGINOSUS SATURATUS Chapman
Automolus nigricauda saturatus Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 34,
December 30, 1915, p. 644. (Alto Bonito, 460 meters, Antioquia, Colombia.)
Characters —Much darker than A. r. fumosus; crown dark chest-
nut; back and scapulars maroon-brown; tail black; upper breast
chestnut; rest of lower surface olive, darker on the sides and flanks
with the under tail coverts chocolate.
Immature (specimen from the Rio Jurubida, Chocd, Colombia),
dorsal surface and side of head as in adult ; throat and upper foreneck
cinnamon-buff, becoming cinnamon on sides of neck and lower fore-
neck, with the tips and sides of the feathers olive-brown; color of
lower breast as in adult but with scattered shaft lines of pale buff.
Measurements——Males (10 from Darién, Antioquia, and Choco),
wing 79.4-88.1 (83.8), tail 69.5-74.0 (71.7), culmen from base 23.2-
26.7 (24.5, average of 10), tarsus 24.5-26.9 (25.6) mm.
Females (8 from Darién and Chocé, Colombia), wing 80.4-83.8
(82.0), tail 68.0-71.2 (70.0), culmen from base 22.8-24.6 (23.7,
average of 6), tarsus 24.0-25.9 (24.9) mm.
Resident. Rare; known in Panama from Cerro Pirre, and from
La Laguna, 975 meters elevation on the southwestern ridge of Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién.
The race was first recorded by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 69, 1929, p. 170) from a female collected by R. R. Benson at
Cana on Cerro Pirre in 1928. It was found next, also a single
specimen, a male, collected by Dr. Pedro Galindo, June 17, 1963, at
La Laguna, on the narrow ridge at the southwest of the high central
area of Cerro Tacarcuna. It is probable that the race has a distribu-
tion through the high forests along this section of the Serrania del
Darién. This is indicated by earlier specimens secured in 1915 by
H. E. Anthony at the head of the Rio Cuti, Choco, on the high slopes
of Tacarcuna on the Colombian side of the boundary.
Automolus rubiginosus nigricauda, found from southwestern
Colombia through western Ecuador is browner (less sooty) above,
with the crown the same color as the back. The tail is dusky, less
definitely black. It is also lighter colored on breast, abdomen, and
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE Q7
under tail coverts. A. r. saturatus is darker above, with the crown
darker than the back. The tail is definitely black, with only a faint
tinge of brown, and the under surface is decidedly darker, especially
on the sides and flanks.
AUTOMOLUS OCHROLAEMUS (Tschudi): Buff-throated
Leaf-gleaner, Hojarasquero Garganticlaro
Anabates ochrolaemus Tschudi, Arch. Naturg., vol. 10, Bd. 1, 1844, p. 295.
( Pert.)
Medium size; throat and upper foreneck prominently white or
buff; rest of lower surface brown to grayish brown without definite
streaks.
Description —Length 170-185 mm. Rather heavy-bodied birds
with noticeably large, strong feet. Adult (sexes alike), crown and
hindneck grayish to blackish brown, with narrow shaft lines of dull
buff ; back and scapulars olive-brown, the wings more rufescent with
the tips and inner webs dusky; lower rump, upper tail coverts, and
tail chestnut; a poorly marked superciliary streak dull buff; side of
head like crown, indistinctly lined with buff; throat and upper fore-
neck white or buff; center line of breast and abdomen dull grayish
buff, or light wood-brown, with the sides olive-brown or tawny-olive ;
upper breast with edges of the feathers slightly darker than the
centers, producing a faintly irregular mottling (not clearly defined
streaks) ; under wing coverts and edgings of inner webs of wing
feathers ochraceous-buff.
Immature, somewhat darker, more olive above; feathers of lower
foreneck and upper breast more or less edged with olive, especially
at the sides, to produce a mottled appearance; sides and flanks also
more olive.
This forest species has an extensive range from Veracruz and
Oaxaca in México south through Central America and South America
to Pert, Bolivia, and Brazil. Three quite distinct geographic races
are found in Panama.
AUTOMOLUS OCHROLAEMUS EXSERTUS Bangs
Automolus exsertus Bangs, Auk. vol. 18, October 1901, p. 367. (Divala,
Chiriqui. )
Characters—Throat and upper foreneck pale buff; somewhat
more olivaceous above and below than pallidigularis, with the breast,
abdomen, and sides more nearly uniform in color.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and southwestern Costa
98 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Rica), wing 87.7-90.9 (89.1), tail 71.3-74.8 (72.9), culmen from
base 22.6-25.2 (23.9), tarsus 23.4-23.9 (23.6) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and southwestern Costa Rica), wing
80.2-88.0 (84.0), tail 63.9-71.1 (67.9), culmen from base 22.5-25.1
(23.7, average of 9), tarsus 22.3-23.3 (22.8) mm.
Resident. Found in small numbers in western Chiriqui from the
lowlands at the south base of the volcano (Divala, Bugaba, Buena
Vista, El Banco) to 1280 meters in the lower Subtropical Zone
(Santa Clara, El Volcan), east on the Pacific slope to Veraguas
(Sona, Santa Fé).
The race extends into southwestern Costa Rica on the Pacific slope.
In Panama, near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, west of El Volcan, and at
Santa Clara farther west I found these birds in heavy undergrowth,
where they remained carefully concealed, their presence indicated by
rattling calls. Others were encountered lower down near Buena Vista,
moving actively through branches laden with vines, keeping fairly
well under cover. On the Rio Tribique, near Sona, Veraguas, one was
taken in a small tract of forest on June 12, 1953, the most eastern
record in my personal field work. I have examined older specimens
collected by Arcé near Santa Fé, at the eastern limit of the range.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 305-313), in studies of
this race in southwestern Costa Rica, examined five nests located in
burrows in banks of small streams, and in other similar locations offer-
ing an earthen face. The shallow tunnels dug by the birds may be
begun as much as 5 months before the active nesting date. Finally they
bring in leaf material from a single species of shrub (in the locality
concerned of a Mimosa) to form a broad, shallow cup for the nest.
The eggs, pure white in color, two or three in number, were laid from
March to May. One set of two measured 27.0 19.8 and 26.2x
19.8 mm. Both sexes share in incubation, which lasts for 20 to
21 days.
The young hatch with a scanty covering of gray down. At the end
of 10 days they were not brooded further by the parents at night.
They were fed large insects, caterpillars, spiders, and small lizards.
Droppings were removed so that the nest remained clean. They left
the burrow at the age of 18 days.
AUTOMOLUS OCHROLAEMUS HYPOPHAEUS Ridgway
Automolus cervinigularis hypophaeus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
vol. 22, April 17, 1909, p. 72. (Rio Reventazon, Guayabo, Costa Rica.)
Characters—Darker than A. 0. exsertus, much darker than
A. o. pallidigularis; throat and upper foreneck deep buff; rest of
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 99
under surface olive-brown, becoming olive on the sides and flanks ;
crown feathers blacker, so that the paler central streaks are more
prominent ; back darker olive-brown ; wings darker.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro, and
Veraguas), wing 85.2-93.1 (88.6), tail 70.2-77.5 (72.3), culmen
from base 23.9-25.5 (24.7), tarsus 23.6-25.1 (24.3) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro), wing 81.5-86.7
(84.4), tail 66.0-73.7 (69.5), culmen from base 23.0-25.0 (24.2),
tarsus 23.3-24.5 (24.0) mm.
Resident. On the Caribbean slope in Bocas del Toro (recorded to
730 meters on the Rio Changuena) and western Veraguas (east to
Calovévora).
Two in the Salvin-Godman collection in the British Museum
(Natural History) collected by Arcé, labeled ‘““Veragua” and “Santa
Fe,” probably are from Calovévora, as the bird has not been re-
corded from the Pacific slope. The race ranges north in Central
America through eastern Costa Rica and eastern Nicaragua.
Near Almirante, Bocas del Toro, I found these birds in forested
areas bordering Bahia Almirante, in low undergrowth, in such heavy
shadow that they were seen with difficulty. In Costa Rica, Slud
(Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 206-207) found
them in areas of humid forest from sea level to 1200 meters, but
absent in regions of tropical dry forest. Usually they were seen
alone or in pairs, less often in larger number, perhaps a family party.
The nest described by M. A. Carriker, Jr., (Ann. Carnegie Mus.,
vol. 6, 1910, p. 640) on the Rio Sixaola, the boundary between
Panama and Costa Rica, from its location “in the hollowed top of a
broken tree-top” was probably that of some other species, as is indi-
cated also by the large size listed for the egg (31 x24 mm).
AUTOMOLUS OCHROLAEMUS PALLIDIGULARIS Lawrence
Automolus pallidigularis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1862, p. 465. (Atlantic slope, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters —Definitely paler throughout; lighter brown above,
with lower rump and upper tail coverts more cinnamon-russet ; chin
and upper foreneck mainly white—pale buff only on the sides;
superciliary streak paler, less prominent; under surface centrally
light brownish gray.
In two males taken March 5, 1961, near the Candelaria Hydro-
graphic Station, Panama, the iris was wood brown; the maxilla varied
from dull grayish brown in one to fuscous in the other; mandible
greenish neutral gray, shading to dull honey yellow on the mandib-
100 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ular rami; tarsus and toes light greenish gray; claws light fuscous-
brown. A male from the Rio Tacarcuna, Darién, at 575 meters eleva-
tion, had the iris light brown; the bare skin of the eyelid pale green ;
maxilla fuscous, paler on the sides toward the tip; mandible pale dull
yellowish green; tarsus dull greenish brown; toes pale dull green;
claws neutral gray.
A female collected January 17, 1961, at Juan Mina, Canal Zone,
had the iris dark brown; bare skin around eye light greenish buff;
culmen from tip to level of nostrils fuscous-black ; rest, including
the sides at the base and the mandible mouse brown; mandibular
rami dull honey yellow; tarsus.and toes greenish gray; pads on under
side of toes tinged with yellow ; claws brownish gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Colon to Darién), wing 86.8-
93.2 (89.9), tail 69.8-78.4 (74.0), culmen from base 23.7-25.5 (24.3),
tarsus 23.2-24.7 (23.7) mm.
Females (10 from northern Coclé to San Blas and Darién), wing
82.0-89.0 (86.3), tail 68.4-79.9 (72.0), culmen from base 22.3-25.0
(23.8), tarsus 22.4-23.5 (22.7) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in forested areas on the Pacific slope in
eastern Veraguas (Calobre, Chitra) and from the Cerro Azul east
through Darién; on the Caribbean side from northern Coclé (head
of Rio Coclé del Norte, El Uracillo) and western Colon, northern
Canal Zone, and eastern San Blas to the Colombian boundary (Puerto
Obaldia).
Beyond Panama this race is found widely through northern and
western Colombia to northwestern Ecuador.
This is the most widely distributed form of this species in the
Republic, found wherever there is suitable forest. On the Pacific
side there are records for the foothill area of eastern Veraguas, and
then it appears on the slopes of Cerro Azul, reaches the lowlands on
the lower Rio Bayano (San Antonio) and ranges eastward from
the lower Rio Chiman through Darién, mainly in the hill region in-
land. On the Caribbean side it is recorded from western Colon and
northern Coclé eastward through the Chagres Valley and the San
Blas.
They are mainly birds of the heavier undergrowth, that move about
behind cover of leaves, though in feeding they may range upward
into the lower tree crown. They move actively, but usually secretively
through the leaves or searching the larger limbs, clinging often
suspended sidewise or head down, supported by the strong, long
toes. Clusters of dead leaves and other plant materials hanging in
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE IOI
place or lodged in the angle of limbs, or among epiphytes, are pulled
apart and examined carefully for food. Stomachs that I have ex-
amined have held animal material. One collected on Cerro Pirre
contained one large spider and parts of a smaller one, an earwig with
jaws of two others, and other insect remains.
The song, a loud repetition of a single phrase, resembles that of
the Buff-throated Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus guttatus, but is given
somewhat more slowly and less vociferously. The birds also utter
low chattering calls. Males were singing and in breeding condition
in February and March. Van Tyne (Auk, 1926, p. 546) described
a nest found on Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, as located in
a horizontal tunnel about 60 centimeters deep dug in a cut bank
of a small stream, about 120 centimeters above the water. The
actual nest “was composed almost entirely of a single kind of slender
leaf stalk about ten cm. in length. The nest was quite bulky with
a shallow cavity some ten cm. across and a thickened rim or ap-
proach on the side toward the entrance hole.’”’ The nest held two
half-grown young which the parents were feeding on small lizards
(identified in modern terminology as Anolis limifrons limifrons).
Van Tyne noted that a nest reported by L. L. Jewel, found at Gatun
in 1911 (see Stone, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918,
p. 262) made of twigs and dead leaves, lined with grass, and placed
in the fork of a tree, was evidently wrongly identified. All available
records describe nests of this species as concealed in earthen
tunnels. The egg measurements of “.83 x .62 in.” (about 21x 15.7
mm.) are too small for this species.
THRIPADECTES RUFOBRUNNEUS (Lawrence): Streak-breasted
Leaf-gleaner, Trepapalo Rayado
Philydor rufobrunneus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1865,
p. 127. (San José, Costa Rica. )
Medium size, with strong, heavy body; breast strongly streaked
with cinnamon-buff ; bill large.
Description.—Tip of bill strongly uncinate. Adult (sexes alike),
crown and hindneck brownish gray, with the feathers edged and
tipped with dull black; back, scapulars, and wings somewhat reddish
brown, with the wing coverts more rufescent; rump, upper tail
coverts, and tail chestnut; side of head dusky, streaked with dull
buff; lores grayish; malar region, chin, throat, and adjacent sides
of neck ochraceous, basally dark, edged lightly with this color pro-
ducing a squamate appearance; rest of underparts tawny-olive, with
102 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the breast streaked and the upper abdomen narrowly lined with
ochraceous; under tail coverts rufescent; under wing coverts and
inner edges of primaries and secondaries cinnamon-buff.
A male collected on the lower slope of Cerro Pando, beyond the
Rio Chiriqui Viejo, Chiriqui, had the iris dark brown; base of
mandible dull, slightly greenish, slate; rest of bill black; tarsus and
toes greenish gray ; claws brownish gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 89.1-94.7 (91.6),
tail 84.9-91.8 (89.3), culmen from base 24.2-26.8 (25.9), tarsus
27.0-29.4 (28.1) mm.
Females (11 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Veraguas), wing
87.5-92.1 (90.0), tail 84.5-91.3 (87.6), culmen from base 23.9-26.8
(25.4, average of 10), tarsus 27.0-29.3 (28.2) mm.
Resident. Local and uncommon in the Subtropical Zone of the
mountains from western Chiriqui to eastern Veraguas, and on the
Caribbean slope of western Bocas del Toro, from 1375 to 2350
meters.
While this attractive species, described originally from Costa Rica
more than a hundred years ago, has been fairly well known in that
country, it was not recorded in Panama until 1901 when W. W.
Brown, Jr., collected seven near and above Boquete, Chiriqui, includ-
ing in this record the Caribbean slope, across the divide in Bocas del
Toro (Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 44).
Kennard also secured a male in Bocas del Toro at 1375 meters on the
trail leading from Chiriqui Grande on the Laguna de Chiriqui across
the mountain slopes to Boquete (Kennard and Peters, Proc. Boston
Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 38, 1928, p. 455). Two females, in the California
Academy of Sciences, were collected by Mrs. M. E. M. Davidson
above Boquete on January 26, 1933, and February 12, 1934. Monniche
found them fairly regularly on his Finca Lérida, and on the slopes
above.
Griscom secured a female on Cerro Flores, eastern Chiriqui, on
March 14, 1924, and received two females from Benson taken at
Chitra, eastern Veraguas, February 24 and March 8, 1924. (Griscom
overlooked inclusion of these in his list of 1935.)
At Lérida, C. B. Worth on August 4, 1937, made the first observa-
tions on the nest (Auk, 1939, pp. 306-307). At an elevation of
about 1650 meters a trail leading down from a higher level had cut
into the side of a bed of volcanic ash where this faced a deep valley.
As the naturalist passed, an ovenbird came from one of the many
burrows in the face of the cut bank, a tunnel that “led upward at a
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 103
gentle grade for eighteen inches . . . turned sharply to the right and
slightly downward ... into a chamber about eight inches in all
of its diameters. Here was a nest containing two warm eggs... .
One expects to find a flimsy nest at the end of a burrow, but in this
case I was able to pull the structure through a passageway of smaller
diameter than itself, to have it spring back firmly into shape. .
It was made entirely of medium-sized rootlets of wiry texture, woven
very compactly together. It was about . . . one and one-half inches
thick and almost flat. The eggs were dull white with little gloss. .
They each measured 33.523 mm. . . . Incubation was almost com-
plete.” The bird that was incubating, collected about noon, was a
male.
Another nest found by Dr. Frank A. Hartman (Condor, 1957,
pp. 269-271) at an elevation of 1375 meters near El Volcan, western
Chiriqui, was in a hole in a cut bank along a logging road on the
slope of a forested hill. The tunnel, 10 centimeters wide by 9 high,
was about 65 centimeters long. A chamber 15 centimeters in diameter
at the end held a thick nest of rootlets. The two eggs, heavily incu-
bated, were white with measurements each of 31.3 20.3 mm. The
male, taken as a specimen, was incubating when the nest was found.
Eisenmann and N. G. Smith recorded a nest in a cut bank along a
road above Quiel, in this region, on July 12-18, 1964. Both parents
were carrying food to the young.
Three eggs in a set in the British Museum (Natural History),
labeled Irazu, Costa Rica, March 25, 1898 (collector not listed) are
subelliptical in form, white without gloss, and measure as follows:
ZFS 22.\, 29.9% 22.2 and 30.0% 21.8 mm.
A pair taken on Cerro Pando beyond EF] Volcan, Chiriqui, Febru-
ary 13, 1960, were in breeding condition with a nearly complete
egg in the female.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. No. 35, 1969, pp. 314-316) recorded
a nest found May 24, 1938, in the Cordillera Central of Costa Rica,
at about 1700 meters elevation, placed in a tunnel near the top of a
cut bank along a mountain roadway. The nest proper, a cup of fibrous
rootlets, held two well-grown nestlings. As the burrow was examined
the two parents arrived, each carrying a small green frog in the bill.
In due course, first one and then the other adult flew to the nest
entrance with the food to be greeted with loud notes somewhat like
the calls of young woodpeckers. On the following morning in the
course of 4 hours the parents, in 11 visits, brought four small lizards,
104 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
one salamander, one frog, one beetle, and other items not clearly
recognized.
This species ranges regularly in the undergrowth in heavy forest
where it searches along branches and examines carefully dead leaves
and other accumulations in moss and airplants in search of food.
The birds are found singly or, in the breeding season, in pairs. One
of their notes is a rattling call like that of some of the woodpeckers.
Other notes are short and more explosive in sound.
XENOPS RUTILANS Temminck: Streaked Xenops, Pico Lezna
Rayado
Xenops rutilans Temminck, Nouv. Rec. Planch. Col. Ois. livr. 12, 1821, pl. 72,
fig. 2. (Brazil.)
A small, brown, climbing bird, with the under surface and crown
streaked prominently with white; an elongated white patch on the
side of the head below and behind the eye.
Description—Length 120-130 mm. Bill sharply pointed, with the
line of the culmen straight, mandible strongly recurved, but also
sharply pointed. Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck blackish
brown, streaked narrowly, but definitely, with dull buff; back and
scapulars dull cinnamon-brown, the back streaked with cinnamon-
buff; rump, upper tail coverts, and tail cinnamon-rufous, the latter
with the inner webs of the second to fourth rectrices largely black;
wing coverts in general like back, but with more or less concealed
basal portions dull black; secondaries and primaries dull black, with
an extensive central area and external edgings of cinnamon-buft ;
superciliary line white to buffy white; lores gray; postocular streak
brownish black ; auricular region dusky streaked with white to grayish
white and dull buff, with a broad pure white stripe below (of slightly
elongated feathers) ; chin and throat white; rest of under surface
light grayish brown, with a rufescent wash on the abdomen; under
tail coverts cinnamon; under surface striped with white, the stripes
broader on the breast; axillars white; under wing coverts white to
cinnamon-buff ; cinnamon-buff markings on middle of wing showing
broadly on lower surface.
The streaked breast identifies this species from the other Xenops
found in the Republic. It ranges from Costa Rica and Panama
across northern South America to Trinidad, and south to Bolivia,
northwestern Argentina, and Brazil. Two subspecies are recognized
in Panama.
Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1936, pp. 802-803) described two sets
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 105
of two eggs each of the race Xenops rutilans heterurus collected at
Mount Hope, Trinidad, May 4, 1923, and May 8, 1924. The first “was
in a natural cavity of a tree at about 10 feet and was composed of a few
leaf-stems and root-fibres.” The second was from a nest of “a few
root-fibres placed in a hole in a dead stump at 8 feet. . . . The eggs
are white and smooth-shelled, one set regular ovals and the second
rather rounder. They measure 20.6 15.3, and 20.615.2; 21.2x
io ane 21% IZ mom.”
XENOPS RUTILANS SEPTENTRIONALIS Zimmer
Xenops rutilus septentrionalis Zimmer, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 42,
March 25, 1929, p. 82. (Guayabo, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Slightly smaller; faintly darker brown on_ back;
rump and upper tail coverts darker rufous-brown; black markings
on rectrices slightly less in amount; white of throat less extensive ;
white streaks on lower surface averaging narrower, with total amount
of white reduced.
A female taken on the lower slopes of Cerro Pando, beyond El
Volcan, Chiriqui, February 26, 1965, had the iris mouse brown;
maxilla, tip, and cutting edge of mandible blackish neutral gray ; rest
of mandible dull brownish white ; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ;
claws blackish neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
65.0-68.0 (66.6), tail 44.0-50.3 (47.5), culmen from base 12.3-14.0
(13.2), tarsus 13.7-14.8 (14.2) mm.
Females (5 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 61.5-64.7 (63.2),
tail 45.1-49.4 (47.1), culmen from base 12.9-13.9 (13.4), tarsus
14.0-14.7 (14.3) mm.
Resident. Rare. Recorded from Subtropical Zone of the moun-
tains of western Chiriqui.
This is a little-known bird in Panama, recorded first by one speci-
men collected by Arcé, and sent to Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1870, p. 192). W. W. Brown, Jr., collected two males, now in the
Museum of Comparative Zoology, near Boquete, Chiriqui, in March
and April 1901. Mrs. M. E. M. Davidson secured a female at Barriles
near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, January 12, 1931. Blake (Fieldiana:
Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 531) recorded male and female in the
Monniche collection taken on Horqueta, above Boquete, in 1933. In
recent work Dr. Frank A. Hartman secured a male on Cerro Pando,
west of El Volcan, February 22, 1958. In this latter area I have taken
106 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
two males and a female February 15 and 20, 1960. These are the
specimen records that have been reported to the present.
In my own few encounters with the species in life on Cerro
Pando I have noted it as similar in general to the related Plain Xenops,
but easily recognized from the clear white throat and heavily streaked
under surface. The female collected in 1960 was one of a pair
that climbed actively over the lower section of a large stub standing
in dense undergrowth. Occasionally they shifted to large swinging
vines. The call, heard briefly, was a sharp metallic chipping note.
This race is found in the highlands of central and southern Costa
Rica, in addition to western Chiriqui.
XENOPS RUTILANS INCOMPTUS Wetmore
Xenops rutilans incomptus Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 82, no.
59, Feb. 5, 1970, p. 772. (Cana, Cerro Pirre, Darién, Panama.)
Characters —Small, with bill smaller; pale streaks above and
below reduced, decidedly narrower ; less buffy wash on lower abdomen
and flanks ; rump and upper tail coverts slightly darker.
Measurements.—Male (type, from Cerro Pirre, Darién), wing
62.0, tail 41.2, culmen from base 12.9, tarsus 14.7 mm.
Female (1 from Cerro Pirre, Darién), wing 62.7, tail 41.9, culmen
from base 13.0, tarsus 15.0 mm.
Resident. Rare; Cerro Pirre, Darién.
This form is known to date from the two specimens (listed in the
measurements above), collected at Cana, on Cerro Pirre, Darién, by
R. R. Benson, the female on April 20 and the male on July 31, 1928.
Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, pp. 171-172)
recognized that these two differed in size, but with the few specimens
then available for comparison, listed them tentatively under the sub-
specific name heterurus Cabanis and Heine, the form of adjacent
Colombia. With the series of the Colombian form collected by M. A.
Carriker, Jr., now available, and additional specimens of septen-
trionalis from Chiriqui and Costa Rica, it is obvious that the birds
from Cana are without question a distinct race. It seems probable
that this may range also in the Serrania del Darién.
Measurements of the race septentrionalis of Chiriqui and Costa
Rica are given above. Those of heterurus, from the series collected
in Colombia by Carriker, are as follows:
Males (7 from the departments of Antioquia, Cauca, and Huila),
wing 70.7-74.0 (72.1), tail 46.1-52.4 (49.9), culmen from base
13.0-13.7 (13.3), tarsus 14.3-15.2 (14.9) mm.
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 107
Females (9 from the departments of Antioquia, Cauca, and
Santander), wing 66.3-69.8 (68.2), tail 46.2-50.6 (48.1), culmen
from base 12.3-13.8 (13.4), tarsus 14.2-14.9 (14.6) mm.
XENOPS MINUTUS (Sparrman): Plain Xenops, Pico Lezna
Pechirrayado
FIGURE 9
Turdus minutus Sparrman, Mus. Carlson., fasc. 3, 1788, no. 68, pl. 68. Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil.)
g
=
=
$5
FicurE 9.—Plain xenops, pico lezna pechirrayado, Xenops minutus.
Small, brown climbing bird, like the Streaked Xenops but with
light lines reduced and on upper breast only.
Description—Length 115-122 mm. Bill as in Xenops rutilans.
Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck dull blackish brown, with
very narrow, indistinct shaft lines of dull buff and edgings of dull
brownish gray; back and scapulars dull cinnamon-brown; rump
and upper tail coverts cinnamon-rufous; wing coverts basally black,
edged with dull cinnamon-brown like back ; secondaries and primaries
black, with a broad band of cinnamon-rufous across the middle;
108 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
secondaries tipped broadly, and primaries edged at end, with cinna-
mon-rufous; central and three outer tail feathers cinnamon-rufous,
the others partly or wholly black; a narrow streak from above the eye
along side of crown dull white or buff; lores grayish mixed with
dull black; side of head like crown, with narrow shaft lines of buffy
white, bordered below by a narrow band of clear white, slightly
elongated feathers; chin and throat dull buffy white; rest of under
surface dull grayish brown, with edgings of dull buffy white on fore-
neck and upper breast producing faint lines; under tail coverts and
flanks faintly reddish brown; edge of wing and under wing coverts
ochraceous-buff. This species, plainer in markings than the Streaked
Xenops, ranges from southern México through Central America and
in South America from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia, Para-
guay, and southeastern Brazil. Two slightly different forms are found
in Panama.
These interesting small birds are true climbers that move actively
about, clinging with their strong feet, and often hanging back down.
The long ropelike strands of pendant creepers are favored hunting
ground, and on these the birds work up and down in a manner
strongly suggestive of the nuthatches of the north. Often they climb
along the under side of branches, always with the tail swinging free.
Loose bits of bark are pried off with the bill, and they hammer twigs
and creepers exactly like the piculets of similar size of the wood-
pecker family.
Two often range in company, sometimes a pair, sometimes an adult
with one grown young. Though often alone, they also join company
with bands of other small species as these forage through the leaves.
The usual call is a soft chipping note that may be uttered rapidly so
that it becomes a low trilling sound.
In Panama birds are in breeding condition from January through
March. One male fully grown but in immature dress was taken
in company with an adult male near El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 4,
1954.
Those that I have examined have eaten only animal food—small
insects and spiders. A more or less typical stomach of one taken by
FE. A. Goldman at Portobelo, in May 1911, was filled mainly with
fragments of earwigs and ants.
XENOPS MINUTUS RIDGWAYI Hartert and Goodson
Xenops genibarbis ridgwayi Hartert and Goodson, Nov. Zool., vol. 24, August
31, 1917, p. 417. (“Tocoumé”’ = Tocumen, eastern Province of Panama,
Panama. )
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 10g
Characters —Definitely reddish brown above; under surface more
grayish brown.
A male, taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 1, 1966,
had the iris wood brown; maxilla and tip of mandible dusky neutral
gray; base of mandibular rami pale wood brown; rest of mandible
pale grayish white; tarsus and toes bluish neutral gray; claws dusky
neutral gray.
A female, from La Jagua, eastern Province of Panama, January 13,
1962, had the iris dark brown; maxilla dull black ; tip and cutting edge
of mandible dark neutral gray; rest of mandible dull grayish white;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ; claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Canal Zone,
and eastern Province of Panama), wing 62.7-65.2 (63.8), tail 47.0-
51.0 (48.9), culmen from base 14.0-14.8 (14.2), tarsus 14.3-14.9
(14.6) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Veraguas, Canal Zone,
and eastern Province of Panama), wing 59.4-62.6 (60.8), tail 45.3-
46.9 (45.9), culmen from base 13.1-14.5 (14.0), tarsus 13.8-14.6
(14.2) mm.
Weight, 2, 10 grams, Fort Sherman, Canal Zone (G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Common in lowland forests, often also in trees bordering
streams in the savannas, from the Costa Rican boundary east to
the Rio Chiman on the Pacific slope, and to western San Blas
(Mandinga) on the Caribbean side; to 1380 meters on the slopes of
the mountains in Chiriqui.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, pp. 317-326) in south-
western Costa Rica found birds of this race feeding on insects and
their larvae, including ants, which by vigorous hammering they peck
out of bits of sticks or vines. They sleep singly in holes in dead
tree trunks, which they enter quickly at dusk and leave as hastily at
dawn. The nest hole is excavated by the pair, working singly, in the
soft wood of slender decaying trunks or branches. The finished
cavity, lined with soft vegetable fibers, holds two white eggs. Addi-
tional nest material is added as the two share in incubation. Since
the eggs found were not easily accessible, no measurements were
taken. The young at hatching are sparsely covered with gray down.
XENOPS MINUTUS LITTORALIS Sclater
Xenops littoralis P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1861 (February 1,
1862), p. 379. (Esmeraldas, Ecuador. )
IIo BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Characters.—Slightly duller, darker above; lighter, more olive-gray
on lower surface; tail faintly paler rufous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from extreme eastern Province of
Panama and Darién), wing 61.8-64.5 (63.4), tail 45.6-50.2 (47.9),
culmen from base 13.8-15.2 (14.2), tarsus 14.6-15.0 (14.7) mm.
Females (10 from extreme eastern Province of Panama and
Darién), wing 59.9-62.5 (60.7), tail 43.9-46.8 (45.3), culmen from
base 13.1-14.8 (13.6), tarsus 14.0-14.8 (14.4) mm.
Resident. Common in the tropical forests, on the Pacific slope
from the Rio Chiman, eastern section of eastern Province of Panama,
and Darién; on the Caribbean slope in eastern San Blas ; to 900 meters
on Cerro Sapo, 550 meters on Cerro Pirre, and 1430 meters on Cerro
Mali.
This form is common in Colombia, where it ranges east to the lower
Magdalena Valley and from the Panamanian boundary south along
the Pacific slope to northwestern Ecuador. A series from Colombia
averages darker above and slightly more olivaceous below than those
of Panama, and therefore are not wholly typical of this race.
SCLERURUS ALBIGULARIS CANIGULARIS Ridgway:
Gray-throated Leaf-scraper, Raspahoja Gargantigris
Sclerurus canigularis Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 18, September 20,
1889, p. 542. (Turrialba, Costa Rica.)
An active ground-feeder; brown, short tailed, with gray throat
and reddish brown breast.
Description—Length 155-170 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
sepia, in some more grayish brown especially on the forehead; hind-
neck, back, scapulars, and wing coverts dull reddish brown; rump
and upper tail coverts chestnut ; wings dark grayish brown; primary
coverts dull black; tail very dark blackish brown, darker toward the
end; side of head dark, somewhat brownish gray; upper breast and
adjacent sides cinnamon-rufous; lower breast and abdomen dark
grayish brown; flanks and under tail coverts dull chestnut-brown ;
edge of wing cinnamon-rufous like breast; under wing coverts
slightly brownish slate-gray.
Immature, above brown; upper breast duller brown.
Measurements.—Males (9 from Costa Rica), wing 86.1-92.3
(89.4), tail 54.0-62.5 (59.7), culmen from base 23.3-24.3 (23.7,
average of 7), tarsus 21.7-23.0 (22.4) mm.
Females (6 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 83.8-89.6 (87.2),
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE III
tail 55.0-60.0 (57.9), culmen from base 21.9-24.4 (23.4), tarsus
2105=23.2\( 22.3) mm.
Resident. Rare, known in Panama from a few records in the
higher forests in the Subtropical Zone on the great volcano in western
Chiriqui. The only record is of two specimens, a male and a female,
collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., at an elevation of about 1700 meters
above Boquete, Chiriqui, on March 19, 1901 (Bangs, Proc. New
England Zool. Club, 1902, p. 45). In Costa Rica also the bird has
been little known. Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
pp. 208-209) reported it “‘only from the northern half of the country,
its recorded localities . . . restricted to the subtropical belt along
the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Central and the Pacific face of
the Guanacaste Cordillera.” My only personal encounter with it in
the field came in the latter area on the forested summit of Cerro
Santa Maria. A male collected here appeared at a call in dense under-
growth a few centimeters from the ground.
Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1936, p. 803) describe the nest of
Sclerurus albigularis albigularis in Trinidad as a tunnel “made in the
tough clayey soil of a roadside bank, often of not more than a couple
of feet in height from the ground-level; the tunnel is quite short,
a foot to 18 inches, and is considerably wider than high at the
entrance, which is in form a lateral oval... . Usually it curves
considerably to right or left, and terminates in a chamber floored with
a few stripped midribs of leaves placed side by side . . . these are
loose and independent of each other, not interwoven. The eggs are
two, broad blunted ovals, white and smooth-shelled. A pair taken
30 October, 1924, at the Heights of Guanapo, measure 25.2 x 20.3 and
25 X20 mm.”
SCLERURUS MEXICANUS Sclater: Tawny-throated leaf-scraper,
Raspahoja Garganticastana
Sclerurus mexicanus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, 1856 (Janu-
ary 26, 1857), p. 290. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México. )
A ground-feeder like others of the genus; throat, foreneck, and
breast uniform cinnamon-rufous.
Description—Length 150-165 mm. Adult (sexes alike), head,
back, scapulars, and greater to lesser wing coverts dark brown; crown
in some faintly darker, but with forehead paler ; rump and upper tail
coverts chestnut; wings, including the primary coverts, dusky, with
the outer webs of primaries, secondaries, and primary coverts dark
brown; tail dark brown basally, black or nearly black distally; chin
Ti2 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART %
and throat rufous-tawny, the chin occasionally grayish white, chang-
ing on the lower foreneck and across the upper breast to rufous-
chestnut ; rest of under surface plain brown, somewhat rufescent on
flanks and under tail coverts; under wing coverts grayish brown,
edged in part with tawny.
Immature, with colors duller; foreneck and breast feathers with
paler shaft streaks, and indefinite edgings of dusky or dusky-brown.
The species as a whole is found from southern México through
Central America to Colombia and Venezuela, south to central Brazil,
with seven geographic races currently recognized. The bird is rare
to uncommon locally in Panama where, from the specimens examined,
three of the races may be identified. The nominate form Sclerurus
mexicanus mexicanus, with a range from Veracruz and Puebla,
southern México, through Guatemala and Honduras, compared to
those of Costa Rica and Panama, is marked by longer, more slender
bill, and by the greater extension and brighter hue of rufous over
the entire foreneck and breast.
SCLERURUS MEXICANUS PULLUS Bangs
Sclerurus mexicanus pullus Bangs, Proc. New England Zodél. Club, vol. 3,
January 30, 1902, p. 45. (Boquete, elevation 1525 meters, Chiriqui.)
Characters.—Dark above and below, and slightly more reddish
brown, with the rump and upper tail coverts chestnut.
A female, taken at the head of Rio Guabal, Caribbean slope of
northern Coclé, March 1, 1962, had the iris dark brown; maxilla,
and sides and tip of mandible, black ; gonys, except at distal end, dull
brownish white; tarsus and toes fuscous with the narrow posterior
line of the tarsus paler ; claws dull black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Costa
Rica), wing 73.8-80.0 (78.0), tail 50.7-58.8 (53.9), culmen from
base 21.5-25.0 (23.0), tarsus 21.5-22.8 (22.0) mm.
Females (9 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, and Costa Rica),
wing 74.5-79.5 (76.8), tail 48.8-54.8 (52.3), culmen from base
22.2-23.5 (22.8), tarsus 21.2-22.5 (21.9) mm.
Resident. Rare; recorded on the Pacific slope in Chiriqui on the
western base of the volcano at Barriles near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo,
on the eastern face above Boquete, eastward in the Cordillera de
Tolé, and in Veraguas near Santiago; on the Caribbean side in
Bocas del Toro at Almirante, in northern Veraguas (Calovévora),
and in northern Coclé at 475 meters on the head of the Rio Guabal.
The record for Santiago is from one of the early collections of
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE II3
Arcé (Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, pp. 142-143) when
labeling was often uncertain. The specimen, now in the British
Museum, is marked “Santiago de Veragua, 1864, male.’’ It seems
probable that it was from one of the mountain localities near Santa Fe
where Arcé had made collections in that early period. In the heavy
forests of northern Coclé, at 475 meters, I caught one female March
1, 1962; in a mist net near our camp on the headwaters of the Rio
Guabal, in the upper watershed of the Rio Coclé del Norte. The
muscular stomach was crammed with insect fragments, including
those of some larval form, all of kinds to be expected in food found
under leaves.
SCLERURUS MEXICANUS ANDINUS Chapman
Sclerurus mexicanus andinus Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 33,
November 21, 1914, p. 622. (Buenavista, 1370 meters elevation, Meta, Co-
lombia. )
Sclerurus mexicanus anomalus Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 65, September 1922, p. 209. (Cerro Sapo, Darién, Panama.)
Characters.—Lighter brown throughout; rump and upper tail
coverts brighter reddish brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province
of Panama, and San Blas), wing 76.3-83.8 (79.6), tail 48.4-54.4
(52.4), culmen from base 22.8-26.2 (24.6, average of 9), tarsus 21.5-
22.9% 22.0). mm.
Females (8 from Darién and northern Colombia), wing 75.9-81.1
(78.1), tail 47.0-59.0 (52.4), culmen from base 21.1-25.7 (22.7),
tarsus 21.5-22.6 (21.9) mm.
Resident. Uncommon, in Tropical Zone forests on both Pacific
and Caribbean slopes from the Canal Zone east through Darién and
San Blas (to Puerto Obaldia).
The first specimens of this race known from Panama were col-
lected about 1862 by James McLeannan near Lion Hill on the rail-
road, in what later became the Canal Zone. Later two males were
secured here by W. W. Brown, Jr., in March 1900 (Bangs, Proc.
New England Zool. Club, vol. 2, 1900, p. 26), and another by E. A.
Goldman on January 13, 1911. Eisenmann has identified one netted
near Gamboa, July 3, 1969, by J. R. Karr. Thomas Barbour and
W. S. Brooks collected male and female on Cerro Sapo, Darién, in
April 1922, and the Fifth George Vanderbilt Expedition secured
another there in 1941. The first two mentioned were described as a
distinct race anomalus, which in later study proved to be invalid.
II4 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Several were taken by Hasso von Wedel at Permé, Ranchon, and
Puerto Obaldia, eastern San Blas, in 1931.
In my own field studies we found these strange birds in the far
eastern Province of Panama in the dense coverts along the Quebrada
Cauchero, on the lower slopes of Cerro Chucanti. Here they skulked
about, wrenlike, on or near the ground, seen only in brief glimpses
in the dark shadows. E. A. Goldman noted that his specimen taken
near Lion Hill had a peculiar, rather high pitched note.
Dr. Eisenmann notes that in sight records care is necessary not
to confuse them with the Song Wren, a species similar in its skulking
mannerisms.
Beyond Panama this race ranges through northern Colombia east
of the western Andes (except in the Santa Marta region) and
Venezuela to the highlands of western Guyana (Kurupung River).
SCLERURUS MEXICANUS OBSCURIOR Hartert
Sclerurus mexicanus obscurior Hartert, Nov. Zool., vol. 8, October 5, 1901,
p. 370. (Lita, Esmeralda, Ecuador.)
Characters —Darker, more dusky ; duller, less reddish brown above
and below than S. m. pullus, with rump and upper tail coverts duller,
averaging less chestnut, more dusky.
A female, taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 24, 1964, had
the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-black ; base
of mandible very pale dull brownish white; front of tarsus and toes
fuscous-black; back of tarsus very pale dull brownish white; claws
fuscous.
Measurements——Males (7 from Darién and Chocd, Colombia),
wing 73.5-80.0 (76.7), tail 51.5-59.3 (54.7), culmen from base 20.8-
23.7 (22.7), tarsus 21.5-22.3 (21.9) mm.
Females (10 from Darién, western Colombia, and western Ecua-
dor), wing 73.2-77.3 (75.6), tail 49.5-52.2 (52.1, average of 8),
culmen from base 21.0-25.7 (23.7), tarsus 20.3-23.8 (21.8) mm.
Resident. Uncommon, found in the upper Tropical and Sub-
tropical zones on Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna, mainly in cloud
forest in the subtropical levels.
On Cerro Pirre these birds ranged from 1000 to 1580 meters; in
the Tacarcuna area they were recorded at La Laguna at 900 meters,
and on Cerro Mali and Cerro Tacarcuna from 1350 to 1460 meters.
The specimens available from the two mountain areas agree with
those from western Colombia and western Ecuador.
When the first specimens from the Darién mountains came to
hand their dull hues immediately suggested the darker birds of the
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE II5
race pullus from Chiriqui, but on closer examination it was evident
that they are more dusky, duller, less reddish brown. Both are distinct
from the paler andinus of the broad central lowland areas of the
Republic. Our specimens were collected in mist nets set in the under-
growth of the forest.
Goldman’s notes from Cerro Pirre record that one of his birds
“was making rapid, erratic movements. It alighted first on a tree
trunk a meter or so above the ground, then flew down to a log,
hopped along, and suddenly faced about toward me, advanced a few
hops, and at the same time gave the sharp screeching note peculiar
to these birds.”
SCLERURUS GUATEMALENSIS (Hartlaub): Scaly-throated
Leaf-scraper, Raspahoja Garganta Escamosa.
Ficure 10
A ground-feeder, dark brown with white throat, spotted with
dusky.
Figure 10.—Scaly-throated leaf-scraper, raspahoja garganta escamosa,
Sclerurus guatemalensis.
Description—Length 160-175 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck dark Vandyke brown, paler on the forehead, with the
feathers margined indistinctly with dusky ; back, scapulars, and wing
coverts Vandyke brown; rump and upper tail coverts slightly more
reddish ; tail darker brown changing distally to blackish brown ; wings
and tips of the primary coverts dusky, with the outer webs of the
remiges Vandyke brown; loral area grayish brown to dusky with the
feathers mixed with dark buff centrally; side of head dull dusky-
116 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
brown; chin and throat white margined with dusky ; sides of foreneck
and upper breast tawny-brown with feathers broadly margined with
dusky, producing a squamate effect, with shaft lines tawny-buff ; rest
of under surface bister to sepia-brown, often with tawny shaft lines
faintly indicated on the lower breast and occasionally on the upper
abdomen; under tail coverts in some faintly chestnut-brown; edge
of wing, under wing coverts, and axillars dull cinnamon-brown,
varied to grayish brown, in some edged lightly with dusky.
These are forest birds found from the lowlands up to the lower
subtropical mountain slopes from southern México through Central
America and western Colombia to western Ecuador. Two races are
recognized in Panama.
SCLERURUS GUATEMALENSIS GUATEMALENSIS (Hartlaub)
Tinactor guatemalensis Hartlaub, Rev. Zool., vol. 7, October 1844, p. 370.
(Guatemala. )
Characters ——Browner (somewhat more reddish) above and below.
Jewel recorded that in a male the iris was dark brown, maxilla
black, mandible pale brownish yellow with dusky tip and tarsi blackish
brown.
Measurements——Males (10 from Costa Rica and Panama), wing
85.6-91.8 (87.0), tail 56.5-63.2 (59.5), culmen from base 22.4—26.7
(24.1), tarsus 21.6—22.9 (22.3) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica and Panama), wing 82.5-89.2
(86.4), tail 57.1-62.9 (59.1), culmen from base 23.0-25.3 (24.3,
average of 8), tarsus 22.0-23.3 (22.6) mm.
Weight, 2 30 grams, Cerro Campana (G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Uncommon locally in forested areas; on the Pacific
slope at 1250 meters in western Chiriqui near El Volcan, at 840
meters on Cerro Hoya, Los Santos, and in lowlands from the Rio
Pacora to the Rio Chiman, in eastern Province of Panama; on the
Caribbean side at 725 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, Bocas del
Toro, and in the Canal Zone (Barro Colorado Island, Gamboa, Lion
Hill, Gatun).
Probably this leaf-scraper will be found in small number along
the Atlantic Slope between Bocas del Toro and the Canal Zone, when
that area becomes better known.
While Jewel collected two males near Gatun, Canal Zone, the nest
and eggs that he secured (Stone, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
1918, p. 262) were those of some other species as the eggs are
described as spotted, instead of plain white.
Near Juan Mina, Canal Zone, when I flushed one in a deeply
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 17,
shaded quebrada in heavy forest it flew with a complaining call to
cling briefly on the vertical surface of the base of a tree. In open
gallery forest near the Rio Chiman one flew past low near the ground
and alighted a few meters away. Immediately it began turning and
throwing large damp leaves by tossing them with its bill to search
beneath them, working with such rapidity and energy that the dis-
turbance resembled that made by a small whirlwind.
Habits and life history of the nominate subspecies described in
detail by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 296-304) from
observations on Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, and in south-
western Costa Rica, correct various errors in literature dealing with
these birds. As he has noted, in feeding they do not move leaves
by picking them up in the bill, but push and overturn them with the
bill closed, in movements so rapid that at times the action suggests
that of a minor whirlwind. The song, given by both sexes, is a “clear
trill, delivered in two ascending movements, the sound of which ends
in a little silvery tinkle.”
The birds nest in tunnels, one found on Barro Colorado on March
28, 1935, being dug in the earthen face of a small stream bank that
ran through heavy forest. At the end of the passage, less than a
meter in length, he found a cup-shaped nest made of loosely matted
leaf fibers in which there was a single nestling. Another site, near
El] General in Costa Rica, was in a mass of earth adhering to the
vertical bank of the root mass of a large tree thrown prostrate by
heavy wind. Four successive nestings were in shallow tunnels dug
in this mass of limited thickness. Male and female worked at the
excavation carrying loosened earth in their bills to drop outside the
entrance. The cups of leaf fragments for the eggs were shallow at
first but had steady addition throughout incubation. This labor was
shared by the pair. Each set had two white unmarked eggs, which
became stained with mud as incubation progressed. One set measured
27.4X21.0, and 27.4 20.6 mm. The nestlings at hatching had a
sparse covering of gray down. These nestings came in October 1945 ;
May, October, and December 1946 (Skutch, Naturalist in Costa Rica,
ig7ipeelz).
SCLERURUS GUATEMALENSIS SALVINI Salvadori and Festa
Sclerurus salvini Salvadori and Festa, Boll. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Torino,
vol. 15, No. 362, November 17, 1899, p. 23. (Rio Peripa, northwestern
Ecuador. )
Characters —Darker, more sooty brown, above and below.
A male taken near the Rio Pequeni, at the Peluca Hydrographic
118 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Station, eastern Province of Panama, February 20, 1961, had the iris
dark wood brown; maxilla black, tip of mandible dusky neutral gray,
base brownish white; tarsus and toes fuscous, claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién, San Blas, and Ecuador),
wing 84.0-89.1 (86.8), tail 56.2-62.4 (59.8), culmen from base 22.6-
24.8 (23.7), tarsus 21.3-22.9 (22.4) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama, Darién, and
Ecuador ), wing 82.7—90.2 (85.6), tail 53.0-64.2 (58.2), culmen from
base 22.0-24.8 (23.6), tarsus 21.8-23.0 (22.6) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in heavy forest; on Pacific slope in Darien,
to 550 meters on Cerro Pirre and 575 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna ;
on the Caribbean slope from the upper Chagres Valley to eastern San
Blas (Puerto Obaldia).
This darker race is slightly more common than the nominate sub-
species. On Cerro Pirre I saw them occasionally in the forest and
several were taken in the mist nets. At Boca de Paya I found two
feeding together on the ground, throwing leaves in the usual active
manner. Occasionally they uttered a low, rather plaintive call. The
single bird that I secured on the Rio Pequeni, above Madden Lake,
is especially dark colored. In the undergrowth in tall forest they range
on or near the ground in such dark shadow that often they were seen
with difficulty.
Beyond Darien this race ranges south in western Colombia to
northwestern Ecuador.
LOCHMIAS NEMATURA NELSONI Aldrich: Sharp-tailed Creeper,
Macuquinio
Lochmias nematura nelsoni Aldrich, Auk, vol. 62, no. 1, January 29, 1945, p. 113.
(Cerro Pirre, 1220 meters, Head of Rio Limon, Darién, Panama. )
In form like a short-tailed wren; deep blackish brown, with the
under surface spotted with white.
Description—Adult (sexes alike), crown dull blackish brown;
back, rump, scapulars and outer webs of secondaries blackish chest-
nut-brown; upper tail coverts dusky-black ; tail blackish slate; pri-
maries and wing coverts dusky with the outer webs blackish chestnut-
brown; side of head dusky-black, with faint shaft lines of dull white;
under surface dusky-brown with guttate spots of dull white that al-
most coalesce on the chin, and on lower flanks and under tail coverts
change to dull buffy brown; under wing coverts dusky, spotted faintly
with dull white.
Measurements—Males (4 specimens), wing 66.5-70.2 (67.9),
FAMILY FURNARIIDAE 119g
tail 39.7-45.0 (42.2), culmen from base 22.7-23.2 (22.8), tarsus
23.1-23.8 (23.4) mm.
Female (1 specimen), wing 64.7, tail 41.1, culmen from base 22.4,
tarsus 23.2 mm.
Resident. Rare, on the higher levels of Cerro Pirre, Cerro Mali,
and Cerro Quia, Darién.
This species, ranging in small numbers in the Andes of South
America from Colombia to Bolivia, in the mountains of northern
Venezuela, and in lowland areas from Brazil to Paraguay, Uruguay,
and northern Argentina, was first found in Panama by E. A. Gold-
man. He collected three males at elevations ranging from 1375 to
1525 meters on Cerro Pirre, near the head of Rio Limon, two of them
on April 27 and May 1, and one on June 7, 1912. Goldman’s notes
record only that the one on May 1 was found “near the ground along
the stream in the canyon. . . . It was giving some sharp notes, and
seemed to have the same jerky erratic flight as Sclerurus mexicanus.”
In the stomach of the one collected June 7 (preserved by the collector
in alcohol) I have identified fragments of beetles, including a carabid,
and beetle larva, jaws of an orthopteran with four eggs of this group,
caterpillar remains, and bits of a millipede.
Another specimen record is of a female caught by Charles O.
Handley, Jr., in a mist net set over a small stream at 1250 meters on
the slope of Cerro Mali, a spur of Cerro Tacarcuna. This bird was
preserved in alcohol, and later was made into a study skin by Mrs.
Roxie Laybourne. On March 2, 1971, Dr. Pedro Galindo collected a
male at 725 meters on Cerro Quia.
Dr. John Aldrich named this race for Dr. Edward W. Nelson,
former Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, in recognition of
his studies of the Goldman collections from Panama.
The race of Panama differs from L. n. sororia of northern South
America in being darker, less rufescent above, more grayish brown
on the under surface, with the white spots reduced, and the entire
size somewhat smaller. Lochmias n. obscurata of the southern
mountains is darker and more heavily spotted with white. The
nominate subspecies is lighter colored and more heavily spotted below,
the chin and upper throat being almost wholly white.
The nominate form (Lochnuas n. nematura), according to Goeldi
(Ibis, 1894, pp. 492-494) nests in tunnels in earthen banks where it
builds a rounded structure of small roots and twigs lined with leaves.
In this two white eggs are laid. One egg, collected by Goeldi, that I
have examined in the British Museum, is dull white, without mark-
120 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART Ss
ings, and subelliptical in form. As one end had been damaged, ac-
curate measurements could not be made. Schonwetter (Handb. Odl.,
pt. 14, 1967, p. 32) gives the size in 12 eggs of this race as 24.0-26.0 x
17.8-19.3 mm.
The systematic position of the genus Lochmuas has not been certain.
Peters followed Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., part 4, 1925, p. 236),
who placed it at the end of the family, following Sclerurus (but
without statement as to close affinity).
Vaurie (Classification of Ovenbirds, 1971, pp. 13, 30-34) allies
Lochmias to Margarornis squamiger, a species of South America, as
the two have a “remarkable and conspicuous color pattern” where
in both the undersurface has “large white or whitish spots on the
under parts which are narrowly edged with black and are tear-like.”
The similarity in color pattern is the only resemblance, however, as
the two groups differ distinctly in body form and in manner of life.
The Margarornis group are arboreal forest birds, active in trees, and
with a slighter, less powerful body form that includes weaker skeletal
development. Lochmias may be found low down in shrubbery but is
more terrestrial, with strong legs and heavier wing elements. The
two appear to differ too definitely to warrant the suggested association.
It is preferable to continue listing it at the close of the generic sequence
for the family until there may be definite reason for its shift elsewhere.
Family FORMICARIIDAE: Ant-thrushes, Ant-shrikes ;
Hormigueros
The assemblage of species in this family, found only in the New
World, is one typically South American, with extension north through
Panama in diminishing number. Peters (Check-list Birds of the
World, vol. 7, 1951, pp. 153-273) listed 223 species. While of these
only 38 are recorded in Panama, where, widely distributed in the
Tropical and Subtropical zones, they form a varied and highly inter-
esting assemblage of birds. They diminish steadily in number north-
ward until only 10 reach México, with the Barred Ant-shrike alone
recorded north as far as southern Tamaulipas.
In Panama these birds are found throughout the mainland, but
only two species appear to have ventured to off-lying islands.
Thamnophilus doliatus is resident on Isla Coiba, off western Veraguas,
and on Isla Pedro Gonzalez in the Archipiélago de las Perlas. Both
populations are darker than the mainland race Thamnophilus d.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE I2I
nigricristatus, but in differing degree, so that it has seemed appropri-
ate to name them as separate races. The occurrence of Formicivora
grisea alticincta on several of the Perlas group in the Gulf of Panama
is more intriguing as the species grisea is not found on the mainland
of Panama, its nearest approach being the subspecies F. g. hondae
in northwestern Colombia, from the western shore of the Golfo de
Uraba (Necocli) eastward.
The Formicariidae of Panama show the diversity found in the
family in South America. Smaller kinds range through the forest
canopy from the undergrowth upward, where they form a definite
part of the groups that forage through the branches in loose company.
(See Wiley, R. H., Auk, 1971, pp. 881-892.) Others, more secretive,
inhabit thickets, where their presence may be indicated by their calls
though the birds themselves remain hidden. Still others feed along
the ground, flying to higher perches only when startled, or to look
about. Several species are a regular part of the small groups of birds
that range with moving columns of ants to capture the small prey
flushed by these marauders.
It seems evident that the various kinds have come to Panama since
the formation of the land bridge. It may be supposed that those of
terrestrial habit have spread northward slowly over and near the
ground. As a whole they form an appreciable part of the total avi-
fauna, most of them definitely attractive to the observer through
form and movement.
KEY TO SPECIES OF FORMICARIIDAE
lerdkwithyaidetmitercrestacios aecte ele doeeice eine Sain cio dette berets Z
Head) without tacrestaet eis eg Se a a Sead ce 11
2. Both back and lower surface barred with black and white, or black and
ULE ee eee er eee renee lage ee ae ee ore eae ee a ee cto 3
Back and lower surface not heavily barred with black and white....... 4
3. Bill large, swollen, maxilla strongly hooked at tip; width at nostril equal to
one-half length of exposed culmen; crest without white.
Fasciated ant-shrike, Cymbilaimus lineatus fasciatus,
male and female, p. 124
Bill smaller, not appreciably swollen; maxilla less strongly hooked at tip;
width at nostril less than one-half length of exposed culmen; crest partly
WHITE: icyeyete cuca ons Barred ant-shrike, Thamnophilus doliatus, male, p. 132
4. Under surface mainly white ; larger, wing more than 80 mm.
Great ant-shrike, Taraba major melanocrissus, p. 128
Under surface not white; smaller, wing less than 80 mm.............. 5
5. Chestnut to rufous above, bright cinnamon-buff below.
Barred ant-shrike, Thamnophilus doliatus, female, p. 133
Under surface blackish, gray, dull grayish buff, or streaked........... 6
122
10.
Li:
iz.
i:
14.
iD,
16.
tf,
18.
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Crown and under surface from throat to abdomen streaked prominently
WOLEEL, TRIES «5 erapsneris icin aclus inns sans committe cpl ery Ree Rae eels fet en ea 7
Under surface and crown without streaks, or if streaked, these markings
indistinet, dalt-colored, WMO WIE: «iis cs ose kis «aie bos be Re een 8
Wings and tail rufous, wing coverts spotted indistinctly with rufous.
Black ant-shrike, Thamnophilus nigriceps nigriceps, female, p. 142
Wing coverts black spotted with white, tail black tipped with white.
Bridges’ ant-shrike, Thamnophilus bridgesi, female, p. 140
Dull black, wing coverts and tips of rectrices plain, or spotted with white 9
Slate, gray, or dull buff, not black; plain or indistinctly streaked....... 10
Wing coverts and tail plain black; bill smaller, exposed culmen shorter
than skull.
Black ant-shrike, Thamnophilus nigriceps nigriceps, male, p. 142
Wing coverts and tail tipped with white.
Bridges’ ant-shrike, Thamnophilus bridgesi, male, p. 140
Back with a large concealed central spot of white; crown dull black or
brown without streaks ; under surface not streaked.
Slaty ant-shrike, Thamnophilus punctatus atrinucha, p. 144
Back with no concealed white, crown and back lined indistinctly with buffy
brown and dull black ; base of bill with definite bristles.
Spiny-faced ant-shrike, Xenornis setifrons, p. 149
Smaller, ‘wing: lessthaty, 55; mitch. xocie kay onal eed ee 12
Lat per, wine more *Hatie 5S, tatii.s t cncs,c7ehe sais a iateite acitkotes cate eee 22
Outer webs of primaries rufous; outer webs of two outermost rectrices
white.
Rufous-winged ant-wren, Herpsilochmus rufomarginatus exiguus, p. 178
Outer webs of primaries not rufous; outer webs of outermost rectrices not
WEES», a can tin wiaicied spain woh cree a te os sel) Stands mic bec recs Fae 08 Sate ae 13
Feet stronger, toes larger, tarsus 20 mm or more; crown and back plain
with a prominent white superciliary line extending from lores to side
of nape....Black-breasted ant-wren, Formicivora grisea alticincta, p. 183
Feet weaker, toes smaller, tarsus 17 mm or less; superciliary, if present,
not «prominent saci: feces tends ese a eee 14
Tail longer Ai spin OF arora bs diricicidh deters erst kn eres Ee ee 15
Tail shorter; not: more than 36cm 2.368: 25, Se Pe ee 16
Upper surface black, a large concealed white area in center of back.
Dotted-winged ant-wren, Microrhopias quixensts, p. 179
Center of back rufous.
Rufous-backed ant-wren, Terenura callinota callinota, p. 185
Upper surface heavily streaked with black and white.................. 17
Upper surface plain except for spots on the wings and tip of tail....... 18
Throat plain white; breast and abdomen yellow; tail less than 20 mm.
Pygmy ant-wren, Myrmotherula brachyura ignota, p. 161
Throat and breast heavily streaked with white.
Streaked ant-wren, Myrmotherula surinamensis pactfica, p. 163
Wing coverts spotted definitely with white.............. 0.00 cece eens 19
Wing coverts plain, or spotted with cinnamon-buff...................- 20
19,
20.
21.
22.
23:
24.
20:
26.
2
29.
30.
31.
32.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 123
Elongated flank feathers white.
Black ant-wren, Myrmotherula axillaris albigula, adult male, p. 171
Elongated flank feathers slate-gray.
Slaty ant-wren, Myrmotherula schisticolor schisticolor, adult male, p. 175
Wing coverts plain, without spots.
Slaty ant-wren, Myrmotherula schisticolor schisticolor,
female and immature male, p. 175
Wang coverts spotted! withicinnamon-buttes. se asec eieines oniecien acer 21
Under surface paler, buffy white to buff.
Black ant-wren, Myrmotherula axillaris albigula, female, p. 172
Under surface darker, dull cinnamon to cinnamon-buff.
Fulvous ant-wren, Myrmotherula fulviventris, p. 167
Foreneck and breast clear white.
Bicolored ant-bird, Gymnopithys bicolor, p. 224
Foreneck and breast if white spotted or streaked with another color.... 23
Back and breast heavily marked with rounded black spots.
Ocellated ant-bird, Phaenostictus mccleannani, p. 234
Backanotyheavaly, spotted mwith) blacks aeerieee ereeer etna cn aera 24
Wing coverts widely banded with cinnamon-brown................. 25
Wing coverts lined or bordered with buff or white, or plain........... 26
Small; tail more than one-half length of wing; under surface white or
pale buff, breast spotted..Spotted ant-bird, Hylophylax naevioides, p. 229
Larger ; tail short, decidedly less than one-half length of wing; breast, sides,
and abdomen plain gray, without markings.
Wing-banded ant-bird, Myrmornis torquata stictoptera, p. 211
A cinnamon-brown area, concealed by overlying feathers, in center of back
Russet ant-shrike, Thamnistes anabatinus, p. 151
Back with concealed patch white, or without such marking............ 27
With prominent white tips on tail feathers.
Jet ant-bird, Cercomacra nigricans, p. 190
Mailenot prominentlyatippeduwithy whiteso.e. esos + see sce eee oe oe 28
Breast and foreneck with narrow shaft lines of black or slate; crown
heavily spotted ; small.
Spotted-crowned ant-vireo, Dysithamnus puncticeps puncticeps, p. 158
Breast and foreneck not lined narrowly with black or slate, crown not
SPO LCA He ae as Wee | GLEE VIN) tae ety REI, 7 68 OE LE No Se 29
Abdomen light yellow; small. .Plain ant-vireo, Dysithamnus mentalis, p. 154
Aibdomenvnotelight yellows mlanecie sae eeeeen een ene 30
Abdomen white ; back and upper tail coverts rufous-brown.
White-bellied ant-bird, Myrmeciza longipes panamensts, p. 197
ANbdomenyblaclkeislatesonmihufousaeseeneene ricer oer eaeoen cee 31
Wing coverts rather finely spotted with white; throat black in male, spotted
with white in female.
Salvin’s ant-bird, Myrmeciza laemosticta laemosticta, p. 206
Wing coverts edged with white, or cinnamon, or without markings..... 32
With an’ areaof white concealed/in the back. ....5...0c00-0-.e0ees ac 33
Wathknoxconcealedewhitesinsthesbacksacrmeiae ccs elseieiciencicis cleroeictets 34
124 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART ig
33.
34,
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
Wing more than 75 mm; wing coverts edged with white in male, with
chestnut in female (concealed white absent in some); forecrown bare
in male, bright blue in life.
Bare-crowned ant-bird Gymnocichla nudiceps, p. 192
Wing less than 70 mm; head feathering normal.
Tyrannine ant-bird, Cercomacra tyrannina, p. 186
Form normal, body slender, legs proportionately shorter, tail normal... 35
Form more rounded, body heavy, legs relatively longer, tail short..... 36
Larger, wing 75 mm or more; male black, female dull brown with side of
ead Wldck=1eee < care. Immaculate ant-bird, Myrmeciza immaculata, p. 209
Smaller, wing 70 mm or less; male with black or blackish slate head and
under surface, and brown back; female with slate-colored head and brown
lower surface........ Chestnut-backed ant-bird, Myrmeciza exsul, p. 200
Small, wing less than 65 mm, tail less than 25 mm, with prominent rictal
brisHescmmscn. Ochraceous pygmy ant-pitta, Grallaricula flavirostris, p. 241
Larger, wing more than 75 mm, without prominent rictal bristles.... 37
Breast plam, without Streaks Gf SPOS, . 2.5. «oes cea bs scsa b ops eetleuen 40
Breast streaked: or heavily Spotted... 2.02 so. uct ee ers cans cree Pek 38
Breast heavily spotted; larger, wing more than 90 mn, bill heavy.
Black-crowned ant-pitta, Pittasoma michleri, p. 237
Breast streaked; smaller, wing less than 85 mm, bill slender......... 39
Breast narrowly streaked ; wing coverts plain.
Fulvous-bellied ant-pitta, Hylopesus fulviveniris, p. 248
Breast heavily and broadly streaked; wing coverts strongly spotted with
Dita tse ss ad Spectacled ant-pitta, Hylopesus perspicillatus, p. 250
Dorsal surface with feathers edged with dusky.
Scaled ant-pitta, Grallaria guatimalensis, p. 243
Dorsal surface plain, without streaks or markings..................-- 41
Breast chestnut or rufous.
Rufous-breasted ant-thrush, Formicarius rufipectus, p. 222
Breast erayish,brownato. neatlve black ccce« shia gee sends oby-pheioieae 42
Crown and side of neck black.
Black-headed ant-thrush, Formicarius nigricapillus nigricapillus, p. 220
Crown brown, like back, side of neck rufous.
Black-faced ant-thrush, Formicarius analis, p. 213
CYMBILAIMUS LINEATUS FASCIATUS (Ridgway): Fasciated
Ant-shrike, Hormiguerote Rayado
Ficure 11
Cymbilanius lineatus fasciatus Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6, April 26,
1884, p. 404. (Hacienda Los Sabalos, Chontales, Nicaragua.)
Bill large and strong; male narrowly barred black and white, with
black more prominent on upper surface; female buffy white barred
with black, narrowly on lower surface, more heavily above.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 125
Description—Length 165-180 mm. Bill large, swollen, depth and
width at nostril about equal; maxilla deeply notched and strongly
hooked at the tip; mandible sharply toothed at distal end; a bushy
decumbent crest. Adult male, crown black, with the forehead and
fore crown finely barred with white (barred narrowly with white
over entire crown in first adult dress); rest of upper surface,
Ficure 11.—Fasciated ant-shrike, hormiguerote rayado, Cymbilaimus lineatus
fasciatus, male.
including side of head, wings, and tail black barred narrowly with
white ; under surface, including under wing coverts and axillars white,
barred narrowly with black; inner webs of secondaries and inner
primaries white.
Adult female, forehead white (or buff in first adult dress) barred
narrowly with black; rest of crown, including crest, cinnamon-rufous
126 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
(the feathers tipped irregularly with black in first adult dress) ; rest
of upper surface, including wings and tail black, barred very narrowly
with cinnamon-buff to pale buff; side of head and entire under sur-
face pale buff to nearly white, barred narrowly with black, in some
the dark markings much reduced on foreneck, center of the breast,
and abdomen; inner under wing coverts pinkish buff; outer series
mixed white and buff, barred narrowly with black; inner webs of
primaries and secondaries white to buffy white, mottled with dusky.
Juvenile, both sexes, entire crown chestnut, barred narrowly
with black; rest of upper surface black barred with cinnamon-buff ;
outer primaries dotted, and tail barred narrowly, with white.
A male collected on Cerro Galera, Canal Zone, January 8, 1961,
had the iris dark red; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray ; tarsus,
toes, and claws neutral gray.
A female, taken at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 17, 1961, had
the iris bright red; a small area surrounding the nostril light mouse
brown; rest of maxilla fuscous-black, cutting edge at base neutral
gray; mandible, with distal half of cutting edge and tip grayish white,
otherwise neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray. An-
other of this sex, collected at Cafiita, Province of Panama, February
6, 1962, was similar.
Measurements—Males (10 from northern Coclé, Colon, Canal
Zone, Province of Panama and Darién), wing 70.5-74.6 (72.8), tail
61.0-69.0 (64.0), culmen from base 24.0-27.3 (25.7), tarsus 24.6-
25;,4 (Zod. omm.,
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, northern Coclé, Canal Zone,
San Blas, Province of Panama and Darién), wing 71.0-73.2 (71.9),
tail 63.0-68.5 (65.2), culmen from base 23.7-27.7 (25.7), tarsus
24.6-25.7 (25.1) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in forests in the Tropical Zone; on the
Pacific slope from central Chiriqui and Veraguas to the Canal Zone
(Cerro Galera, Chiva Chiva, Forest Reserve), eastern Province of
Panama (Pacora, Cerro Azul eastward), and Darién to the Colom-
bian boundary; on the Caribbean side from western Bocas del Toro
east to eastern San Blas (Puerto Obaldia) ; to 730 meters on the head
of the Rio Changuena, in Bocas del Toro, 600 meters on Cerro
Pirre, and 575 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna in Darién.
The reports for Chiriqui and southern Veraguas are those of
Salvin based on collections made by Enrique Arcé. Salvin (Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 144) recorded the bird in his first
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 127
report from Santa Fé and Santiago in Veraguas. In a later account
(idem, 1870, p. 194) he added Calovévora and Calobre, Veraguas,
and Mina de Chorcha (east of David) in central Chiriqui. These
localities are repeated in the summary account by Salvin and Godman
(Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 195), and, with the ex-
ception of Santiago, are found on specimens in the British Museum
(Natural History) received from Salvin and Godman. In modern
times the bird has not been recorded on the Pacific slope west of the
western border of the Canal Zone, where it occurs on Cerro Galera,
and from that point eastward, in forested areas. It has not been
reported from the Azuero Peninsula.
These are birds of thickets and the lower branches in forest trees,
ranging regularly to higher levels than is customary with related
ant-shrikes. While not abundant they are widely distributed, so that
they are encountered regularly in pairs in forested areas. Rarely I
have seen one on the forest floor. Their coloration and pattern of
markings serve to make them inconspicuous.
A usual call is a low, high-pitched tsee-ee that has little carrying
power. The song is a single repetition of a single note, given rather
rapidly : whee whee whee. Occasionally I have heard them utter a low
rattling call, rather metallic in sound.
At Almirante, Bocas del Toro, this species was called “dominick’’
from the barred pattern of its plumage, like that of the dominique
variety of the domestic fowl.
The notes of Major-General G. Ralph Meyer describe a nest found
July 20, 1941, in the Forest Reserve, on the Madden Road, Canal
Zone. This was a cup placed “in fork of small sapling’ about two
and one-third meters from the ground. The two eggs, cream-white,
spotted irregularly with chocolate brown and dull lilac, measured
23.9 17.8 and 24.3 18.3 mm. Eisenmann recorded a fully grown
fledgling with its parents on the Navy Pipeline Road, near Gamboa,
October 12, 1965.
In the U.S. National Museum there are eggs of the allied Cym-
bilaimus lineatus intermedius, collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., in
northern Colombia as follows: A set of two comes from Santa Rosa,
southern Department of Bolivar, on the eastern base of the Serrania
de San Lucas, a spur of the Central Andes that forms the divide
between the lower Cauca and middle Magdalena valleys. In form
one is subelliptical, the other near short subelliptical. In color they are
white, dotted and spotted rather finely with olive-brown to fuscous,
128 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
varied to vinaceous drab, partly in very fine, short hairlines, but
mainly in an indefinite wreath around the cap of the upper end, the
lower more pointed end being mainly clear. They measure 24.7 x 17.6
and 23.6 Xx 18.1 mm. A single egg taken fully formed from the oviduct
of a female, collected March 24, 1948, on the Hacienda Belén in
eastern Antioquia, is marked with vinaceous-drab, mainly in a distinct
wreath around the cap, with dots and hairlines elsewhere, and
scattered spots of blackish brown. This egg measures 24.2 x 17.8 mm.
Skutch (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club no. 10, 1972, p. 132) reported that
male and female shared incubation during the day, with the female
alone at night.
In the field occasionally I saw these birds eating caterpillars. The
stomach of a male collected by Goldman on Cerro Pirre was filled
with fragments of several species of beetles, nymphs, and adult
pentatomids, a few bits of a locustid, and ants.
The race fasciatus is found from Honduras south through Central
America and western Colombia.
TARABA MAJOR MELANOCRISSUS (Sclater): Great Ant-shrike,
Hormiguero Grande
Figure 12
Thamnophilus melanocrissus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28,
August 1860, p. 252. (Choctum, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. )
Medium size; male, black above; female, warm brown above; both
white below.
Description—Length 175-200 mm. Adult male, upper surface,
including side of head, wings, and tail, black; feathers of center of
back with concealed bases broadly white; wing coverts tipped with
white; alula edged with white; under surface clear white; flanks
gray ; under tail coverts black, in some plain, in others narrowly tipped
with white, occasionally the white tipping extensive; under wing
coverts, edge of wing, and inner margins of flight feathers white.
Adult female, upper surface brown, darker on head, chestnut on
back, paling to cinnamon-brown on the upper tail coverts; lores,
space below eye, and orbital region more or less dusky; under sur-
face white, in some tinged with buff ; lower sides changing to grayish,
and on the flanks to buffy brown or cinnamon; under tail coverts
cinnamon ; axillars, under wing coverts, and inner margins of flight
feathers white.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 129
Immature male, like adult, but concealed white on back less exten-
sive; wing coverts with white edgings reduced, occasionally varied
by scattered tips of cinnamon-buff; sides of breast barred narrowly
with blackish slate.
Immature female, concealed white on back much reduced; wing
coverts faintly barred with dull black; primary coverts with a narrow
subterminal bar of blackish slate and tip of cinnamon-buff; white of
sides, breast, and ramal area of mandible barred narrowly, and in part
indistinctly, with slate.
Juvenile male, dorsal surface dull black, barred narrowly and some-
what indefinitely with cinnamon-buff; tips of primary coverts paler ;
under surface, including the flanks and under tail coverts, buffy
white, barred narrowly with slate; under tail coverts dull black,
barred faintly with buff and dull white; tibia black, barred with dull
cinnamon-buff.
Juvenile female, back, rump, and under tail coverts barred narrowly
with blackish slate; under surface buff, barred narrowly and _ in-
distinctly on foreneck, breast, and sides with slate.
Male (several specimens), iris reddish orange to bright red; bill
black ; tarsus and toes bluish neutral gray ; claws black.
Female (several specimens), iris reddish orange to bright red;
base of mandibular rami dark neutral gray; rest of bill black; tarsus
and toes neutral gray to bluish neutral gray; claws dark neutral
gray to black.
Measurements.—Males (14 specimens from throughout the range
in Panama), wing 88.1-93.5 (89.8), tail 67.5-71.8 (69.0), culmen
from base 27.0-32.3 (29.4), tarsus 34.2-37.0 (35.5) mm.
Females (14 specimens from throughout the range in Panama),
wing 87.4-91.1 (89.3), tail 66.0-71.4 (69.0), culmen from base 27.7-
30.5 (29.0, average of 13), tarsus 34.8-38.2 (35.9) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the tropical lowlands; to 1280 meters
in western Chiriqui. Found locally on the Pacific slope from western
Chiriqui east to Veraguas, commonly from the Canal Zone and
eastern Province of Panama through Darién ; none recorded from the
Azuero Peninsula. On the Caribbean side, recorded throughout from
western Bocas del Toro to eastern San Blas.
These are shy, retiring birds, found in the undergrowth in forest
edge, along stream borders, in low stands of second growth, and in
thickets in pastures and other clearings, usually remote from houses
130 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and other human activities. Where not disturbed, they may range
out in dense stands of weeds. At any alarm they remain quiet, or
may slip away hidden by the dense cover of their haunts. In the
humid air preceding or following rain, especially in early morning,
males often become active and sing, a quick repetition of a single
note that begins slowly, becomes rapid, and ends abruptly in a snarling
sound of higher pitch, the whole audible for several hundred meters.
The song as a whole resembles somewhat the calls of some of the
smaller trogons.
Figure 12.—Great ant-shrike, hormiguero grande, Taraba major
melanocrissus, male.
Two nests of this subspecies examined by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif.
no. 35, 1969, pp. 165-170) in southwestern Costa Rica were built in
thickets, one elevated a meter and a half, the other a little higher
above the ground. Both had outer portions woven of slender vines,
attached to supporting arms, with an inner mass of dry leaves. The
deep, open cup that held the eggs was lined with a mat of slender
fibers. The two eggs in each set were dull creamy white, marked
heavily with dark chocolate, blackish and purplish brown, varied by
pale lilac. Measurements were 29.4 x 23.0 and 30.2 x 22.2 ; 28.2 x 23.0
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE eT
and 29.4 22.2 mm. Both male and female incubated by day, with
the female alone at night. The young at hatching were dark colored,
and without down.
Two eggs in the National Museum collection identified as of this
race, collected July 22, 1922, by Austin Smith at Puerto Jiménez,
Puntarenas, Costa Rica, are subelliptical, very faintly buffy white,
with fine scattered spots of cinnamon over most of the surface, more
abundant and broader as a cap on the larger end. They are some-
what larger, as they measure 31.3 X 23.2 and 30.5 X 22.3 mm.
The nest of the race Taraba major semifasciatus in Trinidad
differs somewhat as it is described by Belcher and Smooker (Ibis,
1936, p. 804) as “a deep pensile cup, suspended below a horizontal
fork or crossed vines; it is strongly woven of black horsehair-like
fibres, but . . . the eggs can be seen through the nest from below.
... In the few nests seen the male has always been incubating.”
Three sets of eggs of this race, collected by these authors, in the
British Museum (Natural History), each have two eggs. In two
sets one egg is elliptical and the other subelliptical in form. In the
third both are subelliptical. In all, the ground color is faintly buffy
white. These eggs have somewhat heavier markings than those of
melanocrissus described above. Two sets are marked rather broadly
with irregular blotches, spots, and lines of chocolate, light to dark
gray, and dull brown, mainly on the larger end where in part the
markings form an irregular wreath. Markings on the opposite end
are less in amount and extent. In the third set the spots and blotches
are smaller, and there are fewer lines. Measurements differ some-
what also. Those of the three sets are as follows: 26.5 X 21.2, 27.3 x
ZA2: 27.0% 2).0) 27 PRA and 2S x 215) 29.0 XK 21.5 mam.
The food seems to be mainly insects, as in those I have examined
I have found ants, roaches, and caterpillars. They also take small
lizards.
Two birds that I collected on the Rio Jaqué in Darién were recog-
nized by Choco Indian friends in their language as the jorojord.
As a species these birds range from northern Oaxaca and Veracruz
in southern México, through Central and South America to northern
Argentina. In this vast area there are two main population types,
one from Trinidad and eastern Venezuela southward, in which the
tail is strongly barred with black and white (typical T. m. major,
with the allied races stagurus and semifasciatus), and all others in
which the tail is black, with white markings restricted to occasional
narrow tips on the outer rectrices. Females do not have these mark-
132 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ings. The northern group, the race melanocrissus, is remarkably
uniform. With the considerable series now available, the birds from
Mexico south to northwestern Colombia in Antioquia, and south
through western Choco and Valle, in males have the black of the
side of the head extended down below the gape on the side of the
mandibular ramus. In most the tail is plain black; some have faint
white tips on the shorter, external rectrices. In typical form, from
México through Guatemala, the under tail coverts are black. From
Costa Rica through Panama, northwestern Antioquia in Colombia,
and southward along the Pacific Coast west of the Andes, the
feathers in this area are lightly tipped with white. The flanks in all
are slightly darker. Females average slightly darker above and on
the under tail coverts.
The race granadensis, found across Colombia from the Gulf of
Uraba to northwestern Venezuela, in the male has the black on the
side of the head not extended below the gape, the flanks slightly paler,
white on the wings more extensive, and the under tail coverts more
extensively white. The female is faintly paler above, and is paler
brown on upper and under tail coverts.
Brodkorb (Univ. Michigan Mus. Zool., Misc. Publ. no. 55, 1943,
pp. 55-56) has shown that the type locality of melanocrissus is not
in Veracruz as long listed, but is Choctum, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
Sclater (Cat. Coll. Amer. Birds, 1862, p. 172) lists male and female
from that locality as his type specimens. These from the locality
indicated, collected by Salvin, are now in the British Museum.
THAMNOPHILUS DOLIATUS (Linnaeus): Barred Ant-shrike,
Pavita Hormiguera Rayada
Ficure 13
Lanius doliatus Linnaeus, Mus. Adolphi Friderici Regis, vol. 2, 1764, p. 2.
(Surinam. )
Small; male, above black, barred on back and wings with white;
below barred black and white. Female, cinnamon-brown to rufous-
brown above, with crown darker; buff to cinnamon, below.
Description —Length 140-155 mm. Feathers of back of crown
somewhat elongated to form a bushy crest. Adult male, crown black,
in some mixed heavily with white; forehead lined narrowly with
white; rest of upper surface, including wings and tail, barred with
white ; side of head, chin and throat white, streaked with black; rest
of under surface white, barred narrowly with black; in some the
abdomen paler, with bars reduced or absent; under wing coverts
white, barred or spotted with slate.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 133
Adult female, crown chestnut; back cinnamon to rufous-brown,
rump and upper tail coverts paler, cinnamon-buff to cinnamon;
hindneck, auricular area, and sides of neck ochraceous-buff to buffy
white, streaked with black; narrow ring around eye buff or buffy
white; chin and throat buff to cinnamon-buff, in some lightly streaked
with dusky or black, usually on sides; rest of under surface ochra-
ceous to ochraceous-buff, paler on abdomen, darker on sides and
flanks; under wing coverts paler; inner webs of wing feathers edged
with cinnamon.
ZZ
Hay
f Iw
* y ‘r
y!
NY
Sp
Ficure 13.—Barred ant-shrike, pavita hormiguera rayada, Thamnophilus
doliatus, male right, female left.
Immature male, under surface barred narrowly with black, the
abdomen with bars restricted or absent; white on under surface,
especially on breast, sides, flanks, and under tail coverts, washed with
buff; wing with paler markings of buff to cinnamon-buff.
Immature female, duller rufous on upper surface, with crown,
back, scapulars, and rump barred with dusky; underparts paler,
barred irregularly with dusky, except the abdomen; throat barred
and spotted with dusky.
134 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
This is the ant-shrike seen commonly in the central area of the
Republic, where it is widely distributed throughout the lowlands
wherever there are thickets, forest edge, or stream borders of low
growth that afford suitable cover. In these mainland areas, and in
the Archipiélago de las Perlas, it does not venture far into the true
forest. It lives in pairs that range in company, often secretive, less
frequently rather tame. When seen, the raised crest, with the
barred pattern of the male, and the buffy brown hues of the female,
leave no doubt as to identification. Both sexes sing regularly through-
out the year, especially in early morning, a single note repeated
rapidly so that toward the end it becomes a rattle, and then terminates
abruptly in a nasal sound with rising inflection. The call note is a
low croaking sound. As they sing, they stand erect with body and tail
quivering with the force of the effort. When the two are per-
forming near one another the voice of the male is louder than that of
his mate.
In settled areas they come regularly into ornamental shrubbery
planted about driveways and the bases of buildings. There, while
remaining usually under cover, they may become more confident and
tame. While the barred pattern of the back of the male is easily diag-
nostic under usual conditions, it is interesting to note that on dark,
overcast days, when the light is dim, the bird may appear wholly
dark. When not disturbed they may show curiosity at some unusual
circumstance. I have had one fly down to the ground to inspect a
small bird that after a shot had fallen in an open spot near a bush.
The food is mainly small insects and spiders. Occasionally I have
found them over ant swarms, usually when these pass through the
edge of thickets at the border of forest. The flight, across small
openings, is straight, direct, and rather slow, accomplished with
wings beating rather slowly.
Distribution of the species T. doliatus through the offshore islands
along the Pacific coast is irregular. I did not note them on islas
Parida and Bolafios in Golfo de Chiriqui in February 1963, nor on
Brincanco in the Islas Contreras, or on Afuera and Afuerita in the
area between Isla Coiba and the mainland in March 1962. In January
1965 none were seen on Isla Gobernadora, nor in March 1962 and
January 1965 on Isla Cébaco in Golfo de Montijo. They were not
recorded on Isla Taboga and the adjacent islets during visits in
several years. In the Archipiélago de las Perlas they have been re-
ported to date only on islas Pedro Gonzalez, Viveros, Rey, and Cafias.
Absence on the large Isla San José is especially interesting.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 135
THAMNOPHILUS DOLIATUS PACIFICUS Ridgway
Thamnophilus doliatus pacificus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 21,
October 20, 1908, p. 193. (Chinandega, Nicaragua. )
Characters —Male, with the crown feathers extensively whiter ;
black bars on under surface slightly wider, so that the under surface
appears somewhat darker. Female, averaging slightly darker above
and below.
In a male taken near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 9, 1966,
the iris was yellowish white; cutting edge of maxilla and all of
mandible bluish neutral gray ; rest of maxilla black; tarsus, toes, and
claws rather dull neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
and El Salvador), wing 67.6-71.7 (69.9), tail 52.7-59.3 (56.2),
culmen from base 20.8-23.4 (21.5), tarsus 25.8-28.8 (27.3, average
of 9) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Costa Rica, and Guatemala), wing
66.1-69.5 (67.8), tail 51.3-59.5 (55.8), culmen from base 19.3-21.9
(20.7), tarsus 25.6-27.5 (26.7) mm.
Resident. Locally, tolerably common in the Tropical Zone of
western Chiriqui from the Costa Rican boundary eastward, inter-
grading with T. d. nigricristatus in the valley of the Rio San Félix,
above San Félix. Found in small number in the mangrove swamps
on the coast northeast of Puerto Armuelles, more common inland
to the north above Concepcion, Alanje, and near David.
From published records these birds appear less numerous now
than 70 to 100 years ago. Early collectors reported them common
near Divala, Bugaba, and David. In my own studies there in 1960
I found them in fair number only on the coastal area below Alanje,
mainly near the Rio Chico and westward. Elsewhere, clearing for
pastures and farms has destroyed the thickets that are their normal
haunt. To the westward in this area there were a few in the borders
of the mangrove swamps near the mouth of the Rio Palo Blanco.
Inland and to the south down the Burica Peninsula where the darker
ant-shrike, Thamnophilus bridgesi, was common, I did not encounter
them. If any are present they must be rare and local. To the north
and west 7. d. pacificus ranges from southern El Salvador and
western Honduras through western Nicaragua and western Costa
Rica.
While this subspecies, in the extensive white in the crown of the
head in the male and in its average darker coloration, is readily
separated from the race nigricristatus of eastern Panama, it should
136 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
UC MT Anten st >
be noted that in general T. d. pacificus is closer to T. d. (yucatanicus> ir
found in the Yucatan Peninsula in Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana
Roo, ranging south to Petén in northeastern Guatemala and in
intermediate form in northern British Honduras. This population in
the male has somewhat less white in the crown, and is slightly darker
above and below. The female is slightly darker. These two paler
populations are separated completely from one another by the de-
cidedly darker 7. d. intermedius which ranges through eastern and
southern México, west of the Yucatan Peninsula and eastern Petén,
from eastern Guatemala and Honduras south through eastern Nica-
ragua and eastern Costa Rica.
Near El General, Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35,
1969, pp. 192-196) has recorded five nests in or adjacent to thickets
where they were placed at varying elevations from a little less than a
meter to slightly more than 3 meters above the ground. “Each was a
deep, thin-walled, but well made cup attached by its rim to the arms
of a horizontal fork.” They were constructed of various fibers,
usually with bits of green moss on the outside. The eggs were white,
marked with spots and lines of chocolate, and purplish brown, often
concentrated in a wreath on the larger end and present only sparingly
elsewhere. There is much variation in amount and form of markings
in this species. The usual set is of two eggs. Skutch recorded
measurements in four as 23.8X17.1, 23.8x17.5, 23.0x17.5, and
22.6 16.7 mm. Both parents shared in incubation, with the female
alone during the night, and both fed the young. When hatched the
young are without down.
THAMNOPHILUS DOLIATUS NIGRICRISTATUS Lawrence
Thamnophilus nigricristatus Lawrence, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1865,
p. 107. (Lion Hill Station, Panama Railroad, Atlantic slope, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
Characters —Male, with crown mainly black (white markings
much restricted and in some specimens absent); otherwise like
pacificus on the upper surface; under surface decidedly paler, with
the central abdomen in many much lighter or even white without bars.
Female averaging paler.
A male, collected January 21, 1962, at Las Palmitas, Los Santos,
had the iris yellowish white; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray;
tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray. Another, apparently younger,
on January 20, 1963, at Gago, Coclé, had the iris pale dull yellow;
culmen and distal end of maxilla black; side of maxilla from base,
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 137
cutting edge to near tip, and all of mandible except tip, neutral gray ;
tip of mandible dusky neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws slightly
bluish neutral gray. Another, at the same place and date had the gape
whitish.
Measurements.—Males (15 from Panama), wing 67.9-72.4 (70.1),
tail 53.2-59.0 (56.0), culmen from base 20.2-23.3 (21.4), tarsus
26.2-27:8 (26.9) mm.
Females (15 from Panama), wing 67.0-69.6 (68.2), tail 53.0-58.9
(55.9), culmen from base 20.2-22.5 (21.3), tarsus 26.2-27.8
(27.0) mm.
Weights, § 27 grams, 2 22 grams (Fort Sherman, G. V. N.
Powell).
Resident. Common on the Pacific slope from eastern Chiriqui
(San Félix, intermediate toward pacificus, Las Lajas) east through
Veraguas and Coclé, including the Azuero Peninsula from the north-
western end at the western side of Bahia Montijo (one record inland
at Altos Cacao, elevation 450 meters) to the entire eastern side, and
the southern end to the base of the mountains; the western Province
of Panama, Canal Zone, and eastern Province of Panama to Chepo
and the lower Rio Bayano (EI Llano, Cafiita) ; on the Caribbean
side from northern Coclé (El Uracillo) to the Canal Zone and the
lower Chagres Valley. (I did not find them on Isla Gobernadora and
Isla Cébaco, in the lower Golfo de Montijo.)
This is the better known race of this species through its distribu-
tion in the central area of the Republic, where it has been a familiar
bird to the many who have had interest in these matters. While the
usual common name is pavita, near El Copé, Coclé, the country boys
called them mojvia del suelo.
In the field notes of Major-General G. Ralph Meyer there is record
of two nests in the Canal Zone, on March 20, 1941, at Quarry
Heights. The first was suspended vireolike from a small branch
of a low tree, about 24 meters above the ground. It was so loosely
woven of dried grasses that the eggs were visible from beneath. The
two eggs measured 23.316.1 and 23.1X16.3 mm. The second
nest, found near the Gamboa Road junction on May 11, 1941, re-
sembled the first. The single egg measured 23.6 xX 16.6 mm. The eggs
are dull white to creamy white marked with dark brown or gray, in
part in small spots, and in part in fine irregular lines. Both male
and female incubate.
The breeding period seems to continue through the early half of the
rainy season as Eisenmann (Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 117, no. 5,
138 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
1952, p. 34) reported fresh eggs in the Canal Zone on July 17 and
August 12.
The stomachs of two collected by E. A. Goldman near Corozal,
Canal Zone, June 15, 1911, were filled with finely broken bits of
small insects in which I identified beetles of several families—
weevils, flea-beetles, a bruchid, and an elaterid—ants, and a penta-
tomid. One held eight small seeds, the other three, that I was not
able to identify, probably from some berry.
THAMNOPHILUS DOLIATUS EREMNUS Wetmore
Thamnophilus doliatus eremnus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 134,
no. 9, July 8, 1957, p. 58. (Isla Coiba, Panama. )
Characters.—Definitely darker in both sexes than T. d. migri-
cristatus; male with black bars on the under surface broader, throat
heavily streaked with black, and the white bars reduced on the
dorsal surface; female decidedly darker brown above and below,
the darker coloration especially prominent on the lower surface,
where it extends to the throat and the under wing coverts.
Measurements——Males (7 specimens), wing 69.9-72.3 (71.0),
tail 54.2-57.7 (56.0), culmen from base 20.3-22.7 (21.1), tarsus 26.4—
27.0 20.0) Mam,
Females (9 specimens), wing 66.9-71.0 (68.7), tail 52.0-58.5
(54.5), culmen from base 20.9-22.4 (21.5), tarsus 25.7-27.8
(26.6) mm.
This, the only representative of the family on Isla Coiba, was
common so that as I began my work there I encountered them im-
mediately, in the usual pairs, in thickets back of the beaches, and in
tangles bordering the vegetable gardens near the buildings of the
convict quarters. As I became more familiar with the island I found,
to my surprise, that they ranged also in tangles of vines in the tree
crown of the tall upland forest, often so far above the ground that
they were beyond the range of the heaviest loads in my shotguns.
In fact, at times as we searched the trees high overhead for pepper
shrikes and other rarer game, with birds seen only in silhouette, we
were continually deceived by these more common ant-shrikes.
The darker coloration of this race is suggestive of Thamnophilus
doliatus intermedius, found in a distant range from eastern Costa
Rica north through the Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua, Honduras,
and Guatemala to eastern México. This form however differs in the
male in the extensive white markings in the crown, and in average
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 139
larger size with slightly heavier bill. The female intermedius is much
paler than the same sex of the bird of Coiba.
In addition to the series that I collected, there is one female in
the British Museum (Natural History) taken by Lieutenant-Colonel
H. J. Kelsall, on September 1, 1924, while on the St. George Ex-
pedition.
THAMNOPHILUS DOLIATUS NESIOTES Wetmore
Thamnophilus doliatus nesiotes Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 82,
February 5, 1970, p. 773. (Rio Cacique, Isla del Rey, Archipiélago de las
Perlas, Panama. )
Characters——Male, intermediate in color between nigricristatus
and eremnus,; under surface with black bars heavier than in migrt-
cristatus, and white interspaces correspondingly reduced.
Female, also intermediate in depth of color on dorsal surface, but
variable, the paler examples resembling the darker individuals of
nigricristatus, the darker ones the paler eremnus. On average, slightly
larger than the other races found in Panama.
Measurements.—Males (12 from islas del Rey, Cafias, and Pedro
Gonzalez), wing 70.3-75.6 (73.0), tail 53.8-58.8 (56.1), culmen
from base 20.2-22.4 (21.4), tarsus 26.2-27.9 (27.2) mm.
Females (7 from islas del Rey and Pedro Gonzalez), wing 69.4—
73.6 (714), tail 53.4-57.7 (56.3), culmen from base 20.6-22.5
(21.3), tarsus 27.0-27.9 (27.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common on part of the larger islands of the
Archipiélago de las Perlas, Golfo de Panama; recorded from islas
Pedro Gonzalez, Viveros, Rey, and Cafias (absent from Isla San
José).
The Barred Ant-shrike was reported first from this group of
islands by C. Bovallius, who collected two males on Isla Viveros
April 5 and 10, 1882 (Rendahl, Ark. Zool., 1920, pp. 40-41). This
report was followed by Bangs (Auk, 1901, p. 30) who recorded six
taken on Isla del Rey in April and May 1901, by W. W. Brown, Jr.
In a second visit to this island in February and March 1904, this
collector secured eight more of the birds (Thayer and Bangs, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool., 1905, p. 150). One in the British Museum col-
lection was taken on Isla del Rey on June 26, 1924, by naturalists
of the St. George Expedition. In March 1944, I found it on Isla
Pedro Gonzalez, and in January 1960 on Isla Cafias, and also on
Isla del Rey. Both Viveros and Cafias are separated from Rey only
140 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
by narrow channels. In a thorough survey in February and March
1944 of the large Isla San José, distant at the southwest from others
in the group, it was not present. Nor did I find it in 1960 in visits
to islas Contadora, Saboga, Chapera, Santelmo, and Bayoneta.
The characters that mark these birds of the islands are slight, but
are such that the population is evidently different from that of main-
land Panama. As these are birds of weak flight, it may be supposed
that they reached the Pearl Islands at low sea level after the close of
Pleistocene time when these lands were part of the mainland.
THAMNOPHILUS BRIDGESI Sclater: Bridges’ Ant-shrike, Pavita
Hormiguera de Bridges
Thamnophilus bridgest P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, August
15, 1856, p. 141. (David, Chiriqui, Panama.)
Thamnophilus punctatus Cabanis, Journ. f. Orn., vol. 9, July 1861, p. 241. (Costa
Rica. )
Small; in form like the Barred Ant-shrike, but male black, with
scattered white dots on the wing coverts; female head black, breast
gray, both streaked with white.
Description—Length 150-165 mm. Adult male, upper surface,
including the tail, head, foreneck, upper breast, and under tail coverts
deep black; most of wing coverts tipped with small white spots; four
outermost rectrices in fresh state with a small white spot at tip, part
or all lost as the feathers wear ; lower breast, abdomen, and sides slate
color; inner webs of under side of rectrices, and under wing coverts
white, the inner under coverts spotted lightly with slate; upper back
with a concealed median white spot on each feather.
Adult female, crown, hindneck, sides of head and of neck black,
streaked narrowly with white; back and scapulars slaty brown, be-
coming paler on the rump and upper tail coverts; wings and tail
brownish black; wing coverts black, spotted with white; chin and
throat white, edged broadly with black to produce prominent streaks ;
rest of under surface gray to olive-gray lined with white, heavily
on breast, partly concealed and less evident on abdomen; under tail
coverts spotted and barred faintly with white; inner borders of
wing feathers, under wing coverts and axillars white; upper back
with a concealed white line near the middle of each feather.
Immature male, black of forepart of body duller with foreneck and
breast streaked narrowly with white.
Immature female, breast, sides, and abdomen duller, browner.
Juvenile, dull grayish brown on upper surface and wings, the
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE I4I
latter with two narrow white bars; crown brownish black with
narrow shaft lines of white; chin and upper throat white with small
basal spots of slaty black; foreneck dull grayish brown, breast darker
dull brown, both with narrow shaft lines of dull white; lower breast,
abdomen, and sides dull grayish brown, spotted indistinctly with dull
white; under tail coverts dull brown, barred indistinctly with buff;
wings and tail as in adult.
A male collected at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, January 31, 1966,
had the iris dark mouse brown;; bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws dark
neutral gray. Other males have had the bill black, except for the base
of the gonys which was neutral gray.
A female from Puerto Armuelles taken February 2, 1966, had the
iris dark mouse brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black, rest of
mandible dark neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws bluish neutral
gray. The under surfaces of the toes in both sexes are dull yellowish.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Los
Santos), wing 72.4-74.9 (73.8), tail 65.1-68.5 (66.2), culmen from
base 22.0-24.1 (23.0), tarsus 22.5-23.3 (22.7) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Los Santos), wing
69.2-72.6 (71.1), tail 62.9-65.8 (64.2), culmen from base 21.6—
24.0 (22.5), tarsus 22.4-23.6 (23.2) mm.
Resident. Common in forested areas in the tropical lowlands from
western Chiriqui (including the Burica Peninsula) east through
southern Veraguas to the western side and southern end of the
Azuero Peninsula, continuing on the eastern side north of Punta
Mala to the valley of the Rio Pedasi, in the Province of Los Santos.
These are birds of the undergrowth in gallery forest, found near
the coast also in the higher stands of mangroves where there are
tangled lower shrubs at ground level, in areas that may be dry during
part of the year.
Like related species of the genus they range in pairs that, where
the forest has been undisturbed, may be tame. The song, given
by both male and female, is generally similar to that of the Barred
Ant-shrike, but is louder in its utterance, somewhat more emphatic.
It ends abruptly as in the other species, but without the nasal cadence
heard from that bird. They also have a single call repeated regularly,
unlike other sounds that I have heard from their congeners.
According to Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 181-190)
the nest of this species is a “roomy, open cup suspended by its rim
from a horizontal fork at the end of a slender branch.” It is woven
by male and female of dark-colored rootlets and other filaments,
142 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
bound with cobweb to its supports, with a few bits of green moss
on the outside. Six nests ranged from about half a meter to over
34 meters above the ground. The two eggs in the normal set “are
dull white, with a wreath of bright brown and pale lilac blotches
and spots around the large end and a few speckles scattered else-
where.” Two eggs in one set measured 23.8 x 16.7 and 22.2 x 16.7 mm.
Both parents incubate, but only the female through the night. The
incubation period ranged from 14 to 15 days. Young at hatching
were without down. The male continues to aid in feeding the young.
In the Burica Peninsula, where the Barred Ant-shrike was rare, I
believed that it might be competitive with the present species, but in
the coastal area below Las Lajas, near Playa Jobo, the two seemed
to be compatible, where their habitats met. The Black Ant-shrike,
however, ranged in the forest undergrowth, while the other was
mainly in the more open thickets and forest edge outside.
Cabanis (Journ. f. Orn., 1861, pp. 241-242) who received a male
from Hoffmann, taken in Costa Rica, described it as Thamnophilus
punctatus, for apparently he was not aware of Sclater’s earlier name.
He also proposed to place it in a separate genus Abalius, because of
its slightly less prominent crest. This separation was used also by
Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, pp. 24-25) but on
more detailed study is not justified. Beyond Chiriqui, Slud (Bull.
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 212) found Thamnophilus
bridgesi common in the Pacific lowlands of southwestern Costa Rica,
ranging north to the head of the Gulf of Nicoya. He reports it
“at lower subtropical elevations along the humid continental divide
in the vicinity of Lake Arenal and Tenorio Volcano, where its known
range terminates abruptly.”
THAMNOPHILUS NIGRICEPS NIGRICEPS Sclater: Black
Ant-shrike, Pavita Hormiguera Negra Menor
Thamnophilus nigriceps P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1868, pt. 4 (April
1869, p. 571. (‘““Bogota” = northern Colombia. )
A typical ant-shrike but male entirely black, female and immature
male with back chestnut; head and under surface heavily streaked
with white to buffy white.
Description—Length 140-155 mm. Adult male, plumage deep
black, with the flank feathers, mainly concealed, very dark slate, the
under wing coverts and hidden inner webs of the wing feathers white
and the under wing coverts spotted and barred lightly with black.
Adult female, back, wings, and tail cinnamon-brown ; crown, hind-
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 143
neck, and sides of head black, each feather with longitudinal white to
dull buffy streaks along the shaft; throat and foreneck dull black,
shading to slate on the breast, where streaked broadly with white to
buffy white; slate of the breast shading to buffy brown on the ab-
domen, with the light streaking reduced or absent; under tail coverts
cinnamon; under wing coverts and edging on inner webs of wing
feathers cinnamon-buff.
Immature female (male in this stage not seen), with the wing
coverts and the inner primaries and secondaries tipped narrowly with
blackish slate, and terminally with cinnamon-buff; lower breast and
abdomen barred indistinctly with dull slate and pale buff.
A female taken February 8, 1962, at Cafita on the lower Rio
Bayano, eastern Province of Panama, had the iris dark wood brown;
cutting edge of maxilla and base of mandible brownish white; rest
of maxilla fuscous; rest of mandible neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and
claws neutral gray, tinged on tarsus with greenish.
Measurements.—Males (17 from Darién), wing 71.5-75.0 (72.5),
tail 53.4-61.0 (57.2), culmen from base 18.5-22.6 (19.8), tarsus
22.3-23.9 (23.0 average of 16) mm.
Females (16 from Darién), wing 67.3-72.7 (70.2), tail 53.9-61.5
(57.3), culmen from base 18.0-21.0 (19.4), tarsus 22.4-24.0
(23.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common at Cabo Garachiné and in the Tuira-
Chucunaque Valley ; probably also the valley of the Rio Bayano (one
record, Cafiita).
The species was first recorded from Panama by Chapman (Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 36, 1917, p. 366) from specimens collected by
W. B. Richardson with the Harold Anthony Expedition in 1915, at El
Real and Tapaliza. Ludlow Griscom (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 282,
1927, p. 6) “found it abundant in the thorny thickets at Cape
Garachine.”” His visit there was on February 27, 1927. The Fifth
George Vanderbilt Expedition of 1941 also recorded it at this locality
(see Bond and de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, mem. 6,
1944, p. 32). In February and March 1959, I collected several along
the Rio Tuira, near the point where it is joined by the Rio Paya.
Others were found toward the end of the month in the Rio Chu-
cunaque Valley, near the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa (Quebrada San
Félix). They lived in undergrowth in the forest, where they were
not timid so that they were easily seen, in contrast to the elusiveness
of the two more widely distributed species, the Barred and the Slaty
Ant-shrikes. The calls were louder than those of the other two
144 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
mentioned. Males often rested on open perches where their black
coloration was conspicuous, though females were more secretive.
They were local in distribution and so were not frequently seen.
On February 8, 1962, above Cafiita on the lower Rio Bayano
beyond El Llano, I collected one in undergrowth in forest at the
mouth of a small quebrada near a gravel playon called Canchigua.
This was especially interesting as indication that the species ranges
also in the valley of that great river. At the point in question the
Barred Ant-shrike was also present, and within 300 meters the Slaty
Ant-shrike lived, but within the forest.
I have seen no account of its nesting.
Sclater in his original description named this species from a single
specimen “obtained out of a collection of Bogota skins” so that the
type locality has been listed as “Bogota.’’ Hellmayr (in Cory and
Hellmayr, Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 3, 1924, p. 76) remarked that the
type, now in the British Museum, was not a Bogota skin, “being more
like the skins sent from n. Colombia (Baranquilla).”’ Sclater’s
description and plate (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15, 1890, p. 194,
pl. 12) indicate that the type probably was an immature male. Todd
(Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 1927, p. 152) in the description of a
race magdalenae from the upper Magdalena Valley in Colombia
records that Hellmayr, in further comparison of the type with a
series from the Carnegie Museum, found it like one from the lower
Atrato. Thus Thamnophilus virgatus Lawrence (Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sei. Philadelphia, vol. 22, April 27, 1869, p. 361) named from Turbo
is a Synonym.
THAMNOPHILUS PUNCTATUS ATRINUCHA Salvin and Godman:
Slaty Ant-shrike, Pavita Hormiguera Ceniza
Thamnophilus atrinucha Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2,
February 1892, p. 200. (Panama. )
With the heavy head and body, short tail, and large bill of other
species of this genus; distinguished by plain breast, gray in the male,
and dull buffy brown in the female.
Description—Length 140-150 mm. Adult male, crown and hind
neck black, with forehead partly or wholly gray; side of head gray,
with ear coverts streaked narrowly with white; center of back with
concealed base of feathers white, tipped broadly with black ; upper tail
coverts black, tipped with white; rest of upper surface gray; wings
black, with wing coverts tipped, and tertials and secondaries edged,
with white; primaries edged narrowly with gray; tail black with a
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 145
white spot at the end of each feather; under surface, including edge
of wing, slaty gray; under wing coverts, and line on inner webs of
remiges, white.
Female, brown to buffy brown above, brighter on the crown; wing
coverts fuscous-black, tipped with buff to buffy white ; wings fuscous-
black, edged with brown; rectrices fuscous-black, edged with brown,
and tipped with white or buff ; concealed white in bases of feathers of
center of back as in the male; under surface buffy brown to grayish
brown, paler on throat ; under wing coverts and inner edge of remiges
buff.
Juvenile, dull cinnamon-brown above; duller on throat and sides,
with the breast and abdomen grayish white. The male in this plumage
is somewhat grayer than the female.
A male, collected at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 10, 1961,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla, except cutting edge, dusky neutral
gray ; cutting edge of maxilla, mandible, tarsus, toes, and claws neutral
gray.
A female, taken on Cerro Galera, Canal Zone, January 8, 1961, had
the iris brown; maxilla fuscous; mandible, tarsus, toes, and claws
neutral gray. Another, at Cafiita, Panama, February 6, 1962, had the
iris wood brown; cutting edge of bill pale neutral gray; rest of
maxilla black, and of mandible, tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (18 from Panama Province, Canal Zone,
Colon, San Blas), wing 66.7-71.6 (68.2), tail 50.3-56.0 (53.8),
culmen from base 20.2-22.5 (21.1), tarsus 19.3-22.5 (21.1) mm.
Females (14 from Panama Province, Canal Zone), wing 66.1-
70.0 (68.3), tail 51.0-57.7 (54.3), culmen from base 19.7-21.5
(20.7), tarsus 20.5-22.1 (21.2) mm.
Resident. Common, usually in pairs, in forested areas in the Tropi-
cal Zone; on the Pacific slope from the western sector of the Province
of Panama (Cerro Campana, and 5 kilometers west of La Campana
on Rio Camarén) eastward to the Colombian boundary; on the
Caribbean slope throughout from western Bocas del Toro to eastern
San Blas; to 850 meters on Cerro Campana; 900 meters on Cerro
Tacarcuna (La Laguna).
Salvin (P.Z.S., 1867, p. 144) listed specimens forwarded by Arcé
from “Santiago de Veragua’”’ but this I believe to be in error like a
number of other records in the same collection from this locality,
as this ant-shrike is not known on the Pacific side west of eastern
Coclé. I found it near El Valle, Coclé, but only on the low divide
at the headwaters of the Rio Indio which drains to the Caribbean.
146 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
In mountain areas I have recorded it at 850 meters on Cerro
Campana, at 600 meters on the Cerro Azul, and at 500 meters in the
Serrania de Majé. Goldman found it at 550 meters on Cerro Pirre,
and to 600 meters on Cerro Bruja. Galindo secured one at 900 meters
at La Laguna on the slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna. There is definite
decrease in their number at these elevations.
The Slaty Ant-shrike is particularly common from the Canal Zone
eastward, and through its curiosity is one of the forest species that
comes most frequently to attention. Individuals are found from
the low undergrowth of the forest floor to the shadows beneath the
crown of the taller trees. They move about slowly, often in such dim
light that they are seen with difficulty. Though they seek concealment,
at the same time their curiosity usually serves to draw them near at
hand. The song is a repetition of a single note, increasing in rapidity
and rising in pitch as it is repeated a dozen or more times, until it
terminates suddenly in a nasal wank, that is completely different in
sound. In general it is similar to that of the other species of the genus
found in Panama but is less loud, though it carries well through the
forest. A nasal sound sometimes similar to that terminating the song,
and sometimes varied, is used as a call, with other chattering notes.
The male rests quietly while singing, but with wings and tail quiver-
ing from the effort of his rapid utterance. Males, and occasionally
females, puff out the back feathers to display the white bases, a mark-
ing that attracts attention in the dark shadows of their haunts.
Though the pairs usually range alone, invariably they are attracted
by any excitement among their feathered neighbors. I have recorded
them regularly in the companies of birds over moving ant swarms,
though some observers have reported that they do not have this habit.
Their food is insects and other small animal forms. Two birds taken
by Goldman at Portobelo, Col6n, May 25 and 30, 1911, that I
examined held fragments of insects, including the head of a mantis,
fragments of large cicadas, a grasshopper, fragments of camponotid
ants, and beetles, including cerambycids, weevils, and others.
At our camp near Armila, San Blas, on March 11, 1963, a male
came into a dead tree, and presently a female joined him. I noticed
then that the male held a small insect in his bill. When the female
hopped up beside him he fed her, after which the two flew away
together. On Barro Colorado Island at dawn on the morning of
January 16, 1964, a male came to the insects around a light set to
attract them. He seized a large moth and then rested quietly. In a
moment a female flew over to him, took the insect and left quickly.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 147
Male and female work at nest construction. A nest seen on Barro
Colorado Island, on the date mentioned above, placed 25 meters
above the ground, was suspended by the rim from a fork near the end
of a leafy branch. Its resemblance to the nest of a vireo was only in
form of suspension as it was woven so loosely of fine rootlets and
other vegetable fibers that I could see the outline of the two eggs
from below. Externally it had long green mosslike tendrils draped
over it. Both male and female were observed in incubation. Another
nest, with a female in attendance but without eggs at the time, was
seen near Pucro, Darién, on February 3, 1964. This was only a meter
above the ground in open undergrowth at the side of a forest trail.
The open basket was suspended by the rim in the fork formed by
two twigs that crossed one another. It was rather wide and shallow,
woven of rootlets so loosely that in looking down into it I could see
through it to the leaves and twigs beneath. Externally it was decorated
with streamers of green moss.
Skutch (Auk, 1934, p. 10; 1945, p. 18, Pac. Coast Avif., 1969,
no. 35, pp. 172-179) described the two eggs that constitute a set as
white, heavily spotted with chocolate and umber, with the markings
forming a wreath around the larger end. He recorded the extremes in
size in six eggs as 22.6X 16.7, 24.2 16.3 and 25.4 16.7 mm. Two
eggs collected by Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus. vol. 6, 1910, p. 603)
on the Costa Rican side of the Rio Sixaola, were described as creamy
white in color, heavily marked with reddish brown and lilac, with
measurements of 24.016.5, and 24.5xX17 mm. R. A. Johnson
(Auk, 1953, p. 495) reported the incubation period as 14 days. Both
Skutch and Johnson describe the young at hatching as blind, without
down, and dark skinned. In the Canal Zone nesting is recorded to
extend from December to July or August.
Though through much of its range this species and Thamnophilus
doliatus are found in the same general areas, there appears to be no
active competition between them since the Slaty Ant-shrike is a true
forest inhabitant, while the Barred Ant-shrike is found along the
borders, in open thickets, or on the high open summit of the tree
crown, all habitats not attractive to the other species. A similar
division of habitat occurs in Darién where the Slaty Ant-shrike is
found with Thamnophilus nigriceps. It is interesting therefore to
note that the present bird does not penetrate the range of Bridges’
Ant-shrike, Thamnophilus bridgesi, which also extends into heavy
forest.
On the Caribbean slope the subspecies atrinucha ranges north
148 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
through eastern Honduras. To the south it continues beyond the
Panamanian border through western Colombia to western Ecuador,
and to the east across the Caribbean slope from the lower Rio Atrato,
through the departments of northern Antioquia and Cordoba. It
shows considerable individual variation in Panama, which in the male
is found mainly in the amount of gray on the forehead, and in the
extent of the black area on the back. On the Pacific slope, from
Cerro Azul to the Colombian border, most males are slightly paler
gray above. Females throughout show much variation from light to
dark, particularly on the lower surface.
Salvin and Godman received specimens from McLeannan at Lion
Hill, and from Arcé taken at Chepo, and it is on these that they
based their name, as they state in the original description, “Descr.
maris et feminae ex Panama. Mus. nostr.” The action of Hellmayr
(Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1911, p. 1158) in designating Panama
as the type locality actually was not required.
In Colombia from extreme eastern Cordoba and the lower Mag-
dalena Valley through most of the Provinces of Magdalena and
western Guajira, there is a paler race, T. p. subcimereus Todd, in
which the male is lighter gray on the lower surface and on the side
of the head, and the female is lighter brown, both above and below.
[Thamnophilus multistriatus Lafresnaye: Bar-crested Ant-shrike.
Thamnophilus multistriatus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., vol. VII, March
1844. (Colombia. )
P. L. Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15, 1890, p. 211) lists the
range of this species as “Hab. Panama, Colombia and Ecuador’ with
no indication as to why Panama was included. As the three sub-
species now recognized are known only from the upper Tropical
and Subtropical zones of Colombia, the inclusion of Panama evi-
dently came through a lapsus calami. The same distribution found
in R. B. Sharpe (Handl. Gen. Spec. Birds, vol. 3, 1901, p. 16), ap-
parently came from the statement made by Sclater. There is no pres-
ent record for multistriatus nearer Panama than the northern end of
the central Andes near Valdivia, Antioquia. |
[ Thamnophilus leucopygus Lawrence Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New
York, vol. 8, December 1866, p. 401. ‘‘Habitat—New Granada, line
of the Panama R.R., Lion Hill Station. Collected by Mr. J. Mc-
Leannan.
“Remarks.—The white rump appears to distinguish it from all its
allies.’
Salvin (Ibis, 1874, p. 316) following a visit to New York wrote “‘on
examining the type of this species in Mr. Lawrence’s collection, I
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE T49
felt that an error had been made. . . . I now find that the bird really
belongs to the common African species, Dryoscopus cubla (Lath.).
. . . In some exchanges I made with McLeannan, I sent him a num-
ber of African skins; doubtless this one was included by mistake in
a collection forwarded to Mr. Lawrence from Panama, and thus
misled the latter gentleman as to the origin of the specimen.
“Thamnophilus leucopygus must therefore be removed from the
list of American birds.”
The Puffback Shrike, Dryoscopus cubla (Shaw), Family Laniidae,
is found from eastern Republic of Congo and Kenya south to eastern
and southeastern South A frica. |
XENORNIS SETIFRONS Chapman: Spiny-faced Ant-shrike,
Hormiguero Frentispinoso
FRONTISPIECE
Xenornis setifrons Chapman, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 123, July 2, 1924, p. 1.
(Tacarcuna = Old village site, Rio Tacarcuna, 580 meters elevation, Darién,
Panama).
Small; crown and back brown, lined irregularly with black; lower
surface in male bluish slate, in female light brown, indistinctly
streaked.
Description—Length 150-160 mm. Feathers of the forepart of
the body rather broad, rounded, with the web loosely formed at the
distal end; well-developed but short black bristles in the loral area,
below the eye, around the gape, and on the chin; tail feathers with
web loose and often worn at tips, 12 in number, but usually with
one or more lost through accident. Adult male, forehead, purplish
gray; crown, hindneck, back, and scapulars between olive-brown
and buffy brown, with each feather bordered on sides and tip with
black, producing a pattern that in part falls in dark lines; rump and
upper tail coverts neutral gray, washed lightly with olive-brown;
wings dusky brown, with coverts spotted, the scapulars and inner
secondaries tipped, and the primaries edged narrowly with wood
brown; tail blackish slate; side of head and entire under surface,
including under wing coverts, neutral gray to dark neutral gray.
Adult female, like the male on the upper surface; chin dull white;
throat washed lightly with dull pinkish buff and with whitish shaft
lines producing indefinite streaks; lower foreneck, breast, sides, and
under wing coverts wood brown, with dull slate bases showing ir-
regularly to produce a slight mottled pattern; flanks and under tail
coverts dull olive-brown.
150 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
A male, taken March 3, 1963, at Armila, eastern San Blas, had
the iris light gray ; cutting edge of maxilla and entire anterior half of
mandible neutral gray; rest of maxilla and cutting edge of distal half
of mandible black; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray.
Females, taken at the same locality, like male.
Measurements.—Males (4 from Darién and San Blas), wing 69.8-
72.5 (71.1), tail 59.1-69.2 (63.8), culmen from base 18.8—-19.5
(19.2) ; 22:2-22.3 (22.2) mm.
Females (7 from Darién, San Blas, and Chocd), wing 69.1-72.9
(71.0), tail 61.0-64.6 (62.7), culmen from base 19.3-21.0 (20.2),
tarsus 22.0-22.9 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Known from a few individuals taken in the tropical
forests on the lower slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna in eastern Darién,
and in the foothill region of eastern San Blas.
This interesting bird was described by Dr. Frank M. Chapman
from a male in the American Museum of Natural History, collected
by D. S. Ball, with the Harold Anthony Expedition on March 27,
1915, on the upper Rio Tacarcuna in eastern Darién. In early March
1963, I secured a pair in heavy undergrowth in forest covering the
foothills inland from the Cuna Indian village of Armila in eastern
San Blas. The birds did not range near the main small stream
draining this area, but instead lived along the narrow, steeply sloping
side valleys leading down into it. We had worked here intensively
for 10 days until chance brought the two mentioned. With this in-
formation, by careful search in similar terrain, we secured two addi-
tional pairs.
On June 14, 1963, Dr. Pedro Galindo secured a female in a mist
net at La Laguna, the crater lake at 575 meters on a ridge leading
to Cerro Tacarcuna, and the year following, on March 8, I collected
another at the type locality on the Rio Tacarcuna, also in a mist net.
The birds range in pairs in undergrowth in forest like some of the
common ant-shrikes, but more secretively. We had only momentary
glimpses of them in such cover, and I heard no calls that I could
attribute to them.
Beyond the above, there are two females in the Academy of Natural
Sciences collected July 26, 1940, on the low mountain range of the
Serrania de Baudo in central Chocé, inland from the Pacific coast
of northwestern Colombia.
Though in general appearance these birds suggest species of the
genus Thamnophilus, their characters are such as to indicate their
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE I51
separation in a distinct genus. The bird is peculiar, possibly a relict
of an older group from which some of the more widespread ant-
shrikes may have had their origin. The loose external webbing of
the feathers may be seen on close examination. The rectrices appear
loosely attached so that one or more usually are missing in museum
specimens, a circumstance that deceived Dr. Chapman into citing
10 instead of 12 as the number in the single specimen from which he
described the species.
THAMNISTES ANABATINUS Sclater and Salvin: Russet
Ant-shrike, Hormiguero Bermején
Thamnistes anabatinus Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28,
August 1860, p. 299. (Verapaz, Guatemala. )
Small, with strong, heavy bill; above reddish brown; foreneck and
breast buff; rest of under surface gray.
Description —Bill large, stout; maxilla strongly hooked; nostril
very small, round, exposed. Adult male, upper surface and line
through eye tawny brown, slightly darker on the crown, with fore-
head paler; wings, upper tail coverts, and tail cinnamon-rufous ;
concealed bases of feathers of middle of back ochraceous-buff with a
subterminal bar black, the bright color wholly concealed ; superciliary
and auricular region dull buff; foreneck and breast, and in some
the upper abdomen buff to cinnamon-buff ; lower abdomen and flanks
grayish buff to olive-buff; under tail coverts basally cinnamon-buff,
grayish externally, tipped indistinctly with grayish white; under
wing coverts and inner margins of primaries and secondaries cinna-
mon-buff.
Adult female, without concealed cinnamon-buff patch on middle of
back ; otherwise like male.
These ant-shrikes often range with mixed flocks of smaller forest
birds that move in loose company in the treecrown of open forest,
descending at times to the tops of undergrowth and tangles of vines.
Sometimes one was seen, sometimes a pair, male and female together.
Their low calls were hardly distinguishable from those of some of
their companions.
The species ranges from southern México through Central America,
and in South America from Colombia and western Venezuela to
Ecuador, Pert, and northern Bolivia. Two races distinguished by
slight differences in color are recorded in Panama.
152 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
THAMNISTES ANABATINUS SATURATUS Ridgway
Thamnistes anabatinus saturatus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 21,
October 20, 1908, p. 193. (Bonilla, Costa Rica. )
Characters—Olivaceous brown above, with crown closely similar
to back.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
64.5-70.8 (67.2), tail 48.0-53.9 (51.1), culmen from base 19.0-21.3
(20.1), tarsus 19.5-20.8 (20.2) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), wing 64.9-69.0
(66.7), tail 47.0-51.8 (49.2), culmen from base 19.1-21.4 (20.3),
tarsus 20.0-20.7 (20.2) mm.
Resident. Rare, in the mountains of western Chiriqui and western
Bocas del Toro.
The earliest record is that of Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1870, p. 194) who listed one taken by Arcé at Bugaba, western
Chiriqui. Another report for Chiriqui is that of Dr. Frank A. Hart-
man who secured two near El Volcan, a male, now in the U.S. Na-
tional Museum, taken March 2, 1956, and a female collected March 9
in the same year. There are two reports from Bocas del Toro, near
the trail from Boquete to Chiriqui Grande. These include two males
collected in June 1901 by W. W. Brown, Jr., at 600 and 900 meters
(Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 41) and one
taken by H. von Wedel at 1060 meters March 27, 1928 (Peters, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 320). This race is better known
to the north in Costa Rica, and has been recorded in small number
through Nicaragua to Central Honduras. Beyond that point inter-
gradation comes with typical T. a. anabatinus which ranges north to
southern México.
In early April near El General in southwestern Costa Rica, Skutch
(Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 198-200) found a pair building a
nest about 15 meters from the ground in a tree within the forest edge
bordering a pasture. “The completed structure was a vireo-like
cup ... attached by its rim to the supporting twigs, and composed
largely of pieces of brown dead leaves, bound together and to the
support by cobweb.”’ Because of the location the nest was inaccessible
so that the eggs were not seen. It was recorded that both parents
shared in incubation and in the care of the young.
THAMNISTES ANABATINUS CORONATUS Nelson
Thamnistes anabatinus coronatus Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3,
September 24 (September 27), 1912, p. 9. (Cana, elevation 1060 meters, Cerro
Pirre, Darién, Panama.)
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 153
Characters —Darker above than saturatus; crown more rufous
than back; under surface averaging darker, with foreneck and upper
breast dull ochraceous-buff.
In both sexes, the iris is auburn; cutting edge of maxilla and
mandible light neutral gray ; rest of maxilla fuscous-black ; tarsus and
toes dull light green to greenish neutral gray; claws neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (10 from Province of Panama and
Darién), wing 66.5-69.2 (67.6), tail 47.2-53.7 (51.4), culmen from
base 19.3-21.0 (20.1, average of 9), tarsus 20.0-21.2 (20.2) mm.
Females (10 from Veraguas, Canal Zone, Province of Panama,
and Darién), wing 63.6-69.3 (65.8), tail 48.4-52.5 (50.3), culmen
from base 18.5-21.6 (20.5), tarsus 20.0-21.2 (20.3) mm.
Resident. Found locally in small number in the Tropical and lower
Subtropical zones ; on the Pacific slope recorded at Santa Fé, Calobre,
Veraguas; Cerro Campana, Cerro Azul, and Cerro Chucanti,
Province of Panama; and on Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna,
Darién; on the Caribbean side, on the Rio Calovévora, Veraguas ;
the Canal Zone; the Chagres Valley, eastern Province of Panama;
and eastern San Blas.
In the U.S. National Museum there is a specimen received from
Salvin collected by Arcé at Calobre, and in the American Museum
of Natural History a pair taken by Benson at Santa Fe, Veraguas,
and others from Rio Calovévora on the Caribbean side.
On the southern face of Cerro Campana, at 850 meters elevation,
I shot a female March 13, 1951, from a tall tree top in heavy forest,
when it was in company with a little group of tanagers and warblers.
E. A. Goldman secured a female on the Rio Indio near Gatun, Canal
Zone, February 10, and a male March 23 at 300 meters in Cerro
Azul, Panama, both in 1911. In March 1950, we collected two pairs
along the base of Cerro Chucanti, where they ranged to above 500
meters. Here also they were in company with traveling flocks of other
small birds. On the Rio Pequeni near the Candelaria Hydrographic
Station on March 6, 1961, I found a group of half a dozen of this
species in tangled vines in a small, thick-leaved tree beside a quebrada
in heavy forest. Here one would move quickly and then pause mo-
tionless, so that they were seen at rest only with difficulty. They were
in company with a few other small forest birds that were somewhat
more active. I secured one also near Armila, in eastern San Blas,
and Wedel also collected a pair from this area near Permé. The race
was described from a pair taken by Goldman near Cana on Cerro
Pirre in June 1912. Benson collected others here in 1928, and Bar-
bour and Brooks secured a pair on Cerro Sapo, Darién, April 20 and
154 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
22, 1922 (Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65,
1922, p. 206).
G .V. N. Powell recorded one feeding a nearly grown fledgling on
Cerro Campana, November 11, 1966.
In the stomachs of two taken by Goldman near Cana I found
fragments of spiders, with remains of their eggs, and a variety of
small insects, including a cicada, a cricket, another orthopteran, small
bees, a caterpillar skin, pentatomids, and beetles—a chrysomelid,
two carabids, a cerambycid, and several weevils.
DYSITHAMNUS MENTALIS (Temminck): Plain Ant-vireo,
Hormiguero Liso
Myothera mentalis Temminck, Planch. col. livr. 30, 1823, pl. 179, fig. 3.
(Curytiba, Parana, Brazil.)
Small, heavy-bodied; male gray, paler on throat, abdomen yel-
lowish; female, back dull greenish gray; crown and hindneck plain
dull rufous, breast and abdomen yellowish.
Description —Length 100-112 mm. Adult male, crown, side of
head, and hindneck slate color ; forehead and lores slightly paler ; rest
of upper surface olivaceous slate with the outermost scapulars edged
with white; tail darker, tipped very narrowly with white (the white
tipping often worn away); lesser and middle wing coverts black,
edged and tipped with white; greater wing coverts slate, tipped nar-
rowly with white ; wing feathers dull fuscous-black, the inner feathers
edged externally with olivaceous slate, the outermost with the distal
half edged with dull brown; chin and throat white to grayish white ;
feathers of upper breast and side of neck slate-gray with the hidden
bases white ; breast and abdomen white to pale yellow centrally ; under
tail coverts white or pale yellow; flanks light olive; under wing
coverts and inner webs of primaries white; inner webs of secondaries
pale yellow.
Adult female, crown and hindneck rather dull chestnut-brown to
russet, brighter anteriorly ; feathers of crown with lighter shaft lines ;
back, scapulars and rump varying from grayish to brownish olive;
outermost scapulars edged with buff; upper tail coverts and tail sepia
brown; wings olive, with middle and greater coverts tipped with buff
to brownish buff; primaries edged with dull brown; lores dull gray ;
an indistinct, narrow eye-ring white; side of head dusky-olive, lined
narrowly with white; malar region, chin and throat white; breast
dull white, tinged more or less with dull yellow to yellowish olive;
lower breast and abdomen pale yellow; under tail coverts dull buff ;
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 155
sides and flanks buffy olive; under wing as in male, except that the
inner webs of the secondaries are pale buff.
These are forest birds, found usually in pairs. When first seen,
in form their heavy body and short tail suggest a wren, but their
quick action as they move rather quietly among the cover of leaves
is more that of a warbler. They range from undergrowth up through
the lower tree crown. While they may move about alone, also regu-
larly they join the flocks of other small forest birds that travel in
mixed company. Often they are timid but again appear a little
curious, so that they may come near a human intruder in their haunts
with low, chattering calls.
As a species these small ant-birds range widely from southern
México and Guatemala through Central America and South America
to northern Argentina, eastern Paraguay, and Brazil. While a num-
ber of geographic races have been described these in general differ
only slightly in color. Two that are closely similar have been recog-
nized in the Republic, one in the east and one in the west.
DYSITHAMNUS MENTALIS SEPTENTRIONALIS Ridgway
Dysithamnus mentalis septentrionalis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
vol. 21, October 20, 1908, p. 193. (Choctum, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. )
Characters——Male slightly darker, more grayish, above; brighter
yellow on lower breast and abdomen; gray on foreneck and upper
breast extending less far posteriorly. Female, averaging somewhat
darker above; brown of crown darker.
In male and female the iris is very dark brown; maxilla blackish
slate ; mandible neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 60.2-
63.0 (61.5), tail 38.4-43.0 (40.6), culmen from base 16.0-16.8
(16.3), tarsus 18.6-19.8 (19.3) mm.
Females (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 58.3-63.0 (60.5), tail
38.0-41.4 (39.9), culmen from base 15.7-16.9 (16.3), tarsus 18.7-
19:9(19'3 nna
Weight, ¢ 11 grams, Cerro Campana (G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Locally common in more heavily forested areas, mainly
in hill country in the upper Tropical Zone. Recorded in western
Chiriqui from 750 meters (above Buena Vista) to 1350, less com-
monly to 1750 meters, in the area between El Volcan and the Costa
Rican boundary, and (by Eisenmann) to 1850 meters above Cerro
Punta; western Bocas del Toro (Rio Changuena, 750 meters) ; east
through Calobre, Santa Fé, and Chitra, on the Pacific, and from the
156 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Rio Calovévora on the Caribbean slope of Veraguas ; common in the
higher forests of Cerro Campana, western Province of Panama.
Above Boquete, Chiriqui, Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club,
1902, p. 41) reported male and female taken in February and April
1901, by W. W. Brown, Jr. Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958,
p. 531) received only one male in the Monniche collection from
Horqueta near 1600 meters, collected June 18, 1933. Salvin and
Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 207) list “Volcan
de Chiriqui” as one of the localities from which they received this
bird from Arcé, which should mean the area on the south and southeast
base of the volcano. We have an immature male, received from the
Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, collected by R. Hinds, September 11,
1961, at 750 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, in the mountains
of western Bocas del Toro. Farther east, in Veraguas, Salvin (Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 144) listed it from Arcé specimens at
Santa Fé, and later (loc. cit., 1870, p. 194) cited others from Calo-
vévora, Calobre, and Chitra. Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15,
1890, p. 222) lists a male from Santa Fé, and male and female from
Calovévora received in the Salvin-Godman collection. The U.S.
National Museum has a male (without date) from Calovévora taken
by Arcé that came from Salvin.
In March 1951 I was interested to find these birds common in the
higher forests on the southern face of Cerro Campana, mainly
around 850 meters elevation. This is the most eastern point for this
race. Beyond Panama it is found to the north to Campeche, México
(with no record from El Salvador or, as yet, from Nicaragua).
In Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 202-
208) found these birds nesting from February to July. The nest,
like that of a vireo, is suspended from a fork at the end of a branch or
from two adjacent thin branches or twigs, elevated a little more
than half a meter to 2 meters from the ground in the undergrowth in
forest. It is built of dark filamentous materials, adorned externally
with green moss. Both sexes build, incubate (only the female at
night) and feed the young. The two eggs (recorded in 11 nests) were
“dull white, flecked and blotched all over, but most heavily on the
thick end, with purplish brown.” In 12 eggs the range of measure-
ments was 19.1—21.4x 14.3-14.7 mm. When nests were approached
the incubating parent (male or female) dropped to the ground and
fluttered away with spread, beating wings and a prominent display of
the light colored bands (white in the male, buff in the female) on the
outer webs of the scapulars. The young, as usual in this family, are
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 157
without down when hatched. They develop rapidly as they are
feathered in 8 days, and leave the nest the day following.
The birds have soft calls that may join in brief repetition to form
a song.
DYSITHAMNUS MENTALIS SUFFUSUS Nelson
Dysithamnus mentalis suffusus Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3,
September 24 (September 27), 1912, p. 10. (Cerro Pirre, 1220 meters, Darién,
Panama. )
Characters.—Male slightly more greenish gray above; somewhat
less yellow, also slightly duller on lower breast and abdomen; gray
on breast area extending farther posteriorly. Female, averaging
faintly lighter, greener above; brown of crown lighter, especially on
the forehead ; flanks somewhat paler.
Male and female taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, in February 1964,
had the iris dark brown; base of mandible dark neutral gray ; rest of
bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Cerro Azul, Cerro Pirre, and
Cerro Mali, Darién), wing 60.3-64.2 (62.0), tail 37.5-42.5 (40.5),
culmen from base 16.1-17.3 (16.7), tarsus 20.0-21.0 (20.4) mm.
Females (10 from Cerro Pirre and Cerro Mali, Darién), wing
59.9-62.5 (60.9), tail 37.2-40.8 (39.5), culmen from base 16.6-17.3
(16.9), tarsus 20.0-20.9 (20.3) mm.
Resident. Recorded in small number, in the higher elevations on
Cerro Azul, eastern Province of Panama; fairly common in Darién
on Cerro Pirre, and from 600 to 1200 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna.
E. A. Goldman collected a male at 750 meters on Cerro Azul on
March 22, 1911. According to his notes it was ranging in under-
growth near ground level. One that we shot March 2, 1957, near the
trail on the high slope beyond Cerro Piloén at about 850 meters eleva-
tion was in such poor condition that it was not preserved as a speci-
men. To date these are the only specimen records known to me from
this mountain. Bond and de Schauensee (Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila-
delphia, Mon. 6, 1944, p. 33) recorded it at 900 meters on Cerro
Sapo, above Garachiné, Darién, taken in 1941. In April and May
1912, Goldman found them fairly common on Cerro Pirre from 900
to 1580 meters, where he took the series from which E. W. Nelson
described the race suffusus. On February 4, 1961, I collected one on
this mountain at 900 meters. On Cerro Tacarcuna, two females were
taken by Dr. Galindo at La Laguna on May 31 and June 29, 1963.
In February 1964, these birds were common on the ridge of Cerro
158 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Mali at 1425 meters, and also a little lower at 1280 meters toward
Tacarcuna proper. Here they ranged singly or in pairs that moved
actively through the undergrowth, often adjacent to our camp.
The stomach of one collected near Cana on Cerro Pirre by Goldman
was filled with finely ground material in which I identified bits of
spiders, and several insects, including small Cerambycids, Curculio-
nids, and Scarabaeids, with moth remains and fragments of ants.
Others that I examined from other localities held similar insect and
spider material, all finely ground.
This race continues beyond the Atrato Basin in the mountains of
northwestern Colombia, an area from which we have specimens taken
near Valdivia, Antioquia, above the eastern side of upper middle Rio
Cauca.
DYSITHAMNUS PUNCTICEPS PUNCTICEPS Salvin:
Spotted-crowned Ant-vireo, Hormiguero Coronipunteado
Dysithamnus puncticeps Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, May 1866, p. 72.
(“Veragua”; type locality designated as Calovévora, Caribbean slope of
northern Veraguas. )
Dysithamnus puncticeps intensus Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72,
January 1932, p. 343. (Cerro Sapo, Darién, Panama. )
Small; size and form of Dysithamnus mentalis, but with breast and
foreneck narrowly streaked with black; male with crown black,
spotted with white; female with crown marked with black, and under
surface partly buff.
Description —Length 110-120 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck black, dotted with white, the feathers slate-gray on the sides,
and on the partly concealed bases; upper surface slate or slate-gray ;
rump and upper tail coverts, in some, with a slight wash of olive;
tail slate, tinged with olive; wings basally dusky, edged externally
with slate-gray ; wing coverts tipped with white, with ends and bases
of spots narrowly black; alula edged with white; primaries and
secondaries tipped indistinctly with grayish brown; side of head
slate-gray, with the area beneath the eye barred narrowly with grayish
white; under surface white; foreneck and breast with dusky shaft
lines; sides gray; flanks light brownish gray; under tail coverts
pale buff.
Adult female, crown tawny-ochraceous to tawny-brown, streaked
with black; back, scapulars and rump grayish olive to brownish
gray; upper tail coverts browner; tail olive-brown, tipped narrowly
with dull buff (this mark often lost through wear); middle and
greater wing coverts darker than back, spotted terminally with buff ;
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 159
wings olive-brown, the feathers edged with buffy brown; a narrow
white line around edge of eyelids; side of head gray to brownish gray,
lined and spotted with black and buff; central under surface white
to buff with foreneck and breast streaked narrowly with black;
sides grayish to grayish brown; under wing coverts and inner edg-
ing of wing feathers pale buff to cinnamon-buff.
A male, collected March 3, 1963, at Armila, San Blas, had the iris
light gray; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and
claws neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (8 from Bocas del Toro, Darién, and San
Blas), wing 55.6-60.7 (58.6), tail 33.8-40.0 (36.2, average of 7),
culmen from base 16.0-19.7 (18.0, average of 6), tarsus 19.6-20.6
(20.0, average of 7) mm.
Females (8 from Bocas del Toro, Coclé, and Darién), wing 54.3-
59.2 (57.0), tail 33.4-36.0 (34.5), culmen from base 16.5-18.9 (17.7,
average of 7), tarsus 19.0-20.6 (19.7) mm.
Resident. Found locally in areas of humid forest in the Tropical
Zone ; on the Pacific slope, in Darién, from the base of Cerro Sapo to
Jaqué; on the Caribbean side from Bocas del Toro east through the
northern Canal Zone to eastern San Blas; to 600 to 725 meters
elevation in Bocas del Toro.
In the summer of 1926 (Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280,
1927, p. 2) R. R. Benson, with Dale V. Gaffney, crossed from
Santa Fé to the Rio Calovévora, where they found this bird common
and collected a series. Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931,
p. 320) recorded it at Almirante, Bocas del Toro, and at 600 meters
on the trail from Chiriqui Grande to Boquete.
Male and female were taken by R. Hinds at 725 meters on the
upper Rio Changuena, in September 1961. In 1952, I collected fe-
males on the Rio Indio at El Uracillo, northern Coclé, March 4, and
at Chilar, western Colon, March 8.
In Darién, Bangs and Barbour (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65,
1922, p. 206) recorded it on the base of Cerro Sapo. Griscom (idem,
vol. 72, 1932, p. 344) noted male and female from Cituro and the
Rio Cupe, taken by Richardson. In 1946, I secured one at Jaqué on
the coast near the Colombian border, and in 1947 another inland
on the Rio Jaqué. In eastern San Blas it is known from Armila and
Puerto Obaldia.
It is fairly common on Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, where
several nests have been recorded. A. O. Gross (Smithsonian Ann.
Rep. for 1926, 1927, pp. 338-339, pl. 8) found one July 6, 1925,
160 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
placed about 2 meters from the ground in a small tree, where it was
suspended from a forked limb. Male and female shared incubation.
“The birds approached the nesting tree walking on the ground
rather than flying from the branches above. . . . I could hear the ap-
proaching bird singing a sweet warbling song. When it reached the
base of the tree it hopped to the lowest branch and then came up limb
by limb, singing as it came. . . . Both birds sang and approached the
nest in the same manner.” Another nest was recorded on July 11.
No description of the eggs was given.
The supposed darker race that Griscom named intensus from
Darién is not justified in the specimens that I have examined. In
eastern Darién and eastern San Blas, part of the females tend to be
darker colored, as an approach to those of the subspecies D. p. flem-
mingi that is found from central Chocé in western Colombia south
into Ecuador. One collected at Jaqué March 30, 1946, is especially
dark. Others, from Cerro Sapo and eastern Comarca de San Blas
show this tendency but to a lesser degree. Griscom observed this
and made it the basis for his subspecies D. p. intensus. Recognition
of this difference does not seem warranted as it is variable and
passes finally to the subspecies mentioned.
In the original description, cited at the head of the present account,
Salvin gave the locality for his specimens, received from Arcé, as
“Veragua.” The following year (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867,
p. 144) he cited them as from “Santiago de Veragua.” This was
repeated, with a slight change in spelling, as “Santiago de Veraguas”’
by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892,
p. 207). Santiago, far down in the Pacific lowlands, is obviously
wrong, as in western Panama this bird is present only on the Carib-
bean slope. This was pointed out by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 72, 1932, pp. 342-343) where he stated that Arcé’s speci-
mens must have been collected ‘“‘at the terminus of the old Calovevora
trail” across the divide from Santa Fé. Calovévora, thus, is to be cited
as the type locality.
An early report by M. A. Carriker, Jr., of the related species
Dysithamnus striaticeps on the Panamanian side of the Rio Sixaola
(see Eisenmann, Species Middle American Birds, Trans. Linn. Soc.
New York, vol. 7, 1955, p. 61) proves to be invalid. The single speci-
men collected by Carriker in the area of the “Rio Sicsola” (now called
the Sixaola) is a female, Carnegie Museum no. 24176, taken Octo-
ber 10, 1904 (collector’s number 1269). In his account of the birds
of Costa Rica (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 607) Carriker
listed this bird (among other specimens) as Dysithamnus striaticeps.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 161
As there was uncertainty regarding the record, on enquiry Dr.
Kenneth C. Parkes informed me that this specimen had been identi-
fied by him (and earlier by Mr. Todd) as Dysithamnus puncticeps.
It may be noted that Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, vol. 5, 1911,
pp. 59, 60) on basis of this Carriker specimen gave “Rio Sicsola” as a
locality under both striaticeps and puncticeps. On consulting Ridg-
way’s manuscript notes I find that while he had queried the record on
the sheet for striaticeps, through an oversight he had failed to delete
it in his final manuscript.
Slud (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 128, 1964, p. 214) in Costa
Rica found striaticeps “common in the tropical belt, except toward
the end of its geographical range in the southeast.’’ It is possible
that striaticeps, though not recorded, may be present also in Panama,
where search should be made for it in the forested hills near the Rio
Sixaola in the vicinity of Sibube.
MYRMOTHERULA BRACHYURA IGNOTA Griscom: Pygmy
Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Pigmeo
Ficure 14
Myrmotherula brachyura ignota Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, April
1929, p. 167. (Jesucito, Darién, Panama.)
Very small; tail so short that it may appear missing ; upper surface
streaked black and white; under surface white to yellow.
Description—Length 65-75 mm. Tail definitely less than half as
long as wing; 10 rectrices. Adult male, crown and hindneck black,
narrowly streaked with white; back and wings black, the back
streaked narrowly and scapulars bordered broadly with yellowish
white; middle and greater coverts broadly tipped with yellowish
white, to form two prominent wing bars; outer webs of primaries
and secondaries edged narrowly with white: rump light gray; tail
black, tipped narrowly with white (the white often reduced or absent
through wear) ; side of head below and behind eye white; a broad
black streak behind eye, and another on malar region; chin and
throat white; rest of lower surface pale yellow; edge of wing light
yellow ; under wing coverts and edgings on base of primaries white.
Female, like male, except that in some the crown and hindneck are
streaked with pale buff, with the side of the head below the eye
also buff.
A male, taken in the Chucunaque Valley at the mouth of Rio
Tuquesa, March 27, 1959, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black;
tip of mandible dark neutral gray, base neutral gray; lower half of
162 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tarsus, toes, and claws dull grayish green, shading into neutral gray
with a greenish cast toward the tibiotarsal joint. Another male, shot
at Pucro, Darién, February 3, 1964, differed in having the toes dull
yellowish green, and the claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from San Blas, Darién and north-
western Colombia), wing 38.9-41.5 (40.0), tail 12.5-13.8 (13.0),
culmen from base 12.5-14.0 (13.1, average of 9), tarsus 14.2-15.7
(15.0) mm.
Females (10 from Darién and northwestern Colombia), wing 39.0-
41.5 (40.3), tail 13.0-14.8 (13.7), culmen from base 12.5-14.1
(13.3), tarsus 14.6-15.3 (15.0) mm.
FicurE 14.—Pygmy ant-wren, hormiguerito pigmeo, Myrmotherula brachyura
ignota, male.
Resident. Local and uncommon in heavy forest. Recorded in
the Canal Zone (Gamboa, Lion Hill), San Blas (Mandinga), and
Darién (Garachiné, Jesucito, Tigre, on the Rio Cupe, Boca de Paya,
mouth of Rio Tuquesa, Cana, and Jaqué).
This bird has been known in Panama only from scattered records.
The first report is that of Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New
York, vol. 7, 1862, p. 325) of a male forwarded by McLeannan from
Lion Hill on the Panama Railroad. Through some misunderstanding
Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer. Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 209)
cite this record as “Myrmotherula pygmaea’ (=M. brachyura
ignota) in the synonymy of Myrmotherula surinamensis. Other re-
ports from this area are one seen on Barro Colorado Island, July 28,
1943, by R. S. Arbib, Jr. (Eisenmann, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 163
117, 1952, p. 34), and others reported on the Pipeline Road near
Gamboa and near Achiote. Griscom’s type specimen, a male, was
collected by Thomas Barbour and W. S. Brooks at Jesucito, Darién,
on the Rio Jesucito, a small stream east of the base of Cerro Sapo.
He mentioned also a female from El Tigre, on the Rio Cupe, taken
by Benson. One in the Philadelphia Academy was taken at Garachiné
in 1941. E. A. Goldman collected two females at Cana on Cerro
Pirre, February 28, 1912.
I saw this interesting species first at Jaqué, Darién, on March 19,
1946, when I found one moving actively through the lower branches
in gallery forest. It was encountered next in dark, swampy woods
near the sea at Mandinga, western San Blas, on January 26, 1957,
a single bird seen indistinctly as it fluttered among twigs in the higher
branches. Later, in work in the great valley of the Tuira and
Chucunaque, locally they were fairly common. In March 1959, they
were in pairs that moved about rather freely through the smaller trees
in forest growth along streams, without the nervous regard for hiding
behind cover found in their larger relatives. Their small size seemed
protective as any leaf served to hide them. They were found again
near Pucro on the Rio Pucro on February 3, 1964.
The song is a repetition of a single note that increases in rapidity
of utterance to end in a trill, tree-tree-tree-tree-ee-ee-ee. In voice
and mannerism they suggest a miniature of Myrmotherula sun-
namensis.
I have found no report of their nesting.
MYRMOTHERULA SURINAMENSIS PACIFICA Hellmayr:
Streaked Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Rayado
Figure 15
Myrmotherula surinamensis pacifica Hellmayr, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, De-
cember 5, 1911, p. 1159. (Buenaventura, Valle, Colombia. )
Small ; male, black above, streaked with white ; white below streaked
with black. Female, crown rufous streaked with black, otherwise
like male on upper surface; under surface white, washed with buff.
Description.—Length 88-98 mm. Rectrices 12. Adult male, upper
surface, crown to back, including scapulars, black streaked narrowly
with white; wings black; middle and greater coverts tipped with
white ; outer margins of primaries with margins of inner secondaries
edged with white; tail black, tipped narrowly and edged basally with
white; rump feathers and upper tail coverts long and lax, gray, the
tail coverts tipped indistinctly with white; a concealed white area
in center of back; side of head and under surface white, with throat,
164 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
abdomen, and under tail coverts immaculate; elsewhere streaked
with black; axillars, under wing coverts, and inner margins of under
side of wing feathers white; in some a few faint slate spots on inner
side of carpal edge of wing.
Adult female, crown, hindneck, and upper back tawny to cinna-
mon-brown, streaked with black (amount of streaking and depth of
brown variable) ; rest of back and scapulars streaked with white;
wings as in male; middle of back in some washed with cinnamon-
buff; rump lighter gray than in male; long, lax upper tail coverts
tipped faintly with buff; tail black, edged and tipped with white;
foreneck, abdomen, and under tail coverts white; side of head, side
of neck, upper breast, and sides cinnamon-buff, varying individually
in depth of color; under wing coverts and inner wing lining white.
Immature, male and female, under surface lightly streaked with
black or slate ; crown and hindneck as in adult female.
A male, taken on the Rio Pequeni near the Candelaria Station,
March 4, 1961, had the iris mouse brown; maxilla black; mandible
neutral gray ; tarsus, toes, and claws bluish slate.
In a female, collected with the male described above, the cutting
edge of both upper and lower halves of the bill and the tip of the
mandible were dull white ; otherwise like the male.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 49.8-52.5 (50.8),
tail 24.1-28.8 (26.2), culmen from base 14.8-16.9 (16.2), tarsus
17.1-18.2 (17.7) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 47.0-51.0 (48.9), tail 23.3-27.3
(25.2), culmen from base 15.1-17.0 (16.1), tarsus 17.4-18.2
(17.8) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Tropical Zone; on the Pacific slope
through the eastern sector of the Province of Panama and Darién, to
550 meters near Cana on Cerro Pirre; on the Caribbean slope from
western Bocas del Toro (Almirante) east through Colén and the
lower Chagres Valley, including this part of the Canal Zone, and
San Blas (east to Puerto Obaldia).
This is a species of thickets, undergrowth at forest edge, often
along streams, and lower second growth (rastrojo). In swampy
woodland it may live in tangles of vines in the upper level of the tree
crown. They associate normally in pairs, male and female together,
that move about under cover usually concealed as is the custom of
related species of the genus of similar size found in Panama.
Males sing regularly in early morning, and often during the day,
a brief trill formed by the repetition of a single note, chee chee
chee chee-ee-ee. The birds themselves search steadily for insect food
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 165
among the leaves, moving quietly, usually with the members of each
pair not separated far from one another. In their short flights the
black-and-white pattern of the male shows clearly, the duller colors
of the female less evidently. The tail in such movement appears
noticeably short. In Darién, the country men living with me in camp
called them Don Pelotita (little Mr. Ball), from their fluffy rounded
appearance.
Figure 15.—Streaked ant-wren, hormiguerito rayado, Myrmotherula
surinamensis pacifica.
A nest under construction in early January, near Gamboa, Canal
Zone, was located 6 meters or so from ground level in a small stand
of low trees on an open playon along the Rio Frijoles. The external
outline was formed of slender bits of green vines with tiny leaves
along the stem. These were molded to form a rounded basket attached
166 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
to several twigs in a fork in the branch so that the cup appeared
partly suspended. Three days later the nest walls were thicker but
still the structure was not complete. Time available at the locality
did not allow further examination.
A nest with a set of two eggs (U.S. National Museum no. 41393)
of this subspecies was collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., at Nuqui,
Choco, on the northwestern coast of Colombia, March 5, 1951.
The nest is a thin-walled cup, of elongated, mosslike fibers strength-
ened by a thin inner lining of slender filaments that resemble aerial
rootlets of some of the epiphytes. The upper margins of these ma-
terials are wrapped securely around two sides of a thin-branched
fork so that the nest is suspended. The walls, while firm and strong,
are so thin that details of form of anything inside would be
visible from below. The nest is approximately 70 mm in diameter
by 45 mm in depth. The two eggs are white, with a very faint tint
of buff, spotted heavily on the larger end with dark brown, that in
places shows as lilac-gray where the darker color was overlaid with
shell during its formation. Tiny dots and occasional slightly larger
marks are thinly scattered over the rest of the surface. In form one
of the eggs is oval, the other is broader, almost subelliptical. They
measure 169x127 andisl7.33612.7 mm. Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 260) gives a description of a nest
with eggs found by Jewel on the Rio Siri, Canal Zone, March 31,
1912. “Nest pensile at end of a slender branch . . . made of fine
grasses with curtain of green moss. ... Eggs two... grayish
white, heavily speckled, mottled and washed with shades of cinnamon-
brown, with a heavier wreath around the larger end.” The egg
measurements given, transposed to the metric system, are 17.2 X 12.7
and 17.5 x 13.4 mm.
The account by Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1879, p. 525) of an egg attributed to M. surinamensis, collected by
Salmon at Remedios in Antioquia, which is described as “‘white” with
measurements of 20.3 16.5 mm, must refer to some other species.
The inclusion by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves,
vol. 2, 1892, p. 209) of “Veraguas (Arcé)” in the range also is un-
certain and may be based on a specimen from the Salvin-Godman
collection in the British Museum labeled ‘““Veragua (Arcé).’”’ Arcé
collected in the range of this bird at Chepo; or possibly at Calovévora
on the Caribbean slope of northern Veraguas.
The subspecies pacifica ranges beyond Panama in South America
to the Sint and lower Magdalena Valleys in Colombia, and south
along the Pacific Coast to western Ecuador.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 167
MYRMOTHERULA FULVIVENTRIS (Lawrence): Fulvous
Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Leonado
Myrmetherula fulviventris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1862, p. 468. (Line of Panama Railroad, Atlantic Slope, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small; brown, grayer above; wing coverts dull black with three
rows of spots producing wing bars; male, foreneck white with black
bases of feathers showing to produce a spotted appearance.
Description —Length 93-103 mm. Bill relatively stronger, heavier
than others of the genus in Panama. Adult male, above olive ; feathers
of crown from the eyes forward faintly edged with dusky, and
obscurely spotted with dull gray, often lighter, grayer on forehead
adjacent to the nostrils; primaries and secondaries edged with dull
reddish brown; distal area of lesser coverts and all of middle and
greater coverts dull black, tipped with cinnamon-buff to form three
narrow wing bars; upper tail coverts cinnamon; tail dull cinnamon-
brown; side of head dull grayish white; throat basally black, each
feather tipped with a broad spot of white, to produce a mottled
pattern; chin white; rest of under surface buffy olive, duller on the
breast, lighter on the abdomen; under tail coverts dull cinnamon-
brown; sides and flanks more olive-brown; under wing coverts and
edging of inner webs of primaries and secondaries brownish buff.
Adult female, usually lighter brown above; wing coverts blackish
brown, tipped with cinnamon-buff as in the male; chin white; throat,
foreneck, and sides of neck buff; otherwise like the male.
Juvenile, male and female, chin and upper throat white to buffy
white; rest of under surface dull buff; foreneck and upper breast
with indefinite center lines of white; sides and flanks grayish brown.
The Fulvous Ant-wren is a forest bird with wide distribution in
the Republic wherever forest cover remains, from the tropical low-
lands of both slopes to the lower border of the Subtropical Zone. It
is found singly or in pairs, less often half a dozen or so in loose
company, in undergrowth, also regularly higher in the trees. In
addition it is a regular member of the mixed flocks of small birds that
are encountered moving quietly through the leaves. In this they
associate regularly with Myrmotherula axillaris and Microrhopias
quixensis. Groups of these three species often have small tanagers
and honey-creepers added as well as a miscellany of other birds of
this size. Among the three ant-wrens thus grouped it is interesting
to note that the eye in the present species is light in color, while in
the other two it is dark brown.
The species is found widely from eastern Honduras south through
168 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Central America, and in Colombia south along the Pacific Coast to
western Ecuador, and east to the Magdalena Valley. The population
of the coastal area from north-central Chocd (Nuqui) in western
Colombia south to Ecuador is easily distinct in darker, more olive hue
in the male, and darker brown in the female. The others when viewed
in series may be separated into two groups on only slight average
difference in depth of color. The following summary is based on the
series of 71 males and 50 females now available in the U.S. National
Museum, with additional material seen in other museums. In making
comparisons it should be remembered that older specimens, even
when stored carefully in museum cases, may have changed in color
to become appreciably darker when compared with recently collected
material.
Myrmotherula fulviventris fulviventris (Lawrence).
Myrmetherula [sic] fulviventris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol.
7, 1862, p. 468. (Line of Panama Railroad, Atlantic Slope, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
Myrmotherula fulviventris costaricensis Todd, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
vol. 40, December 2, 1947, p. 156 (El Hogar, Costa Rica.)
Averaging slightly darker above and below in both sexes.
Caribbean slope from eastern Honduras through eastern Nica-
ragua, eastern Costa Rica and northern Panama to the Canal Zone,
Panama.
The birds of Panama from the Canal Zone westward are not
separable from those of Costa Rica.
Myrmotherula fulviventris salmoni (Chubb)
Rhopias fulviventris salmoni Chubb, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, vol. 2, July
1918, p. 124. (Remedios, Antioquia, Colombia. )
Slightly paler above and below in both male and female.
Eastern Panama from the eastern sector of the Province of
Panama through Darién, and through San Blas; continuing in Co-
lombia from the western side of the lower Rio Atrato in extreme
northern Choco (Ungia, Acandi) through northern Antioquia (Villa
Artiaga, Botero) and Department of Cordoba, east in the upper Rio
Cauca Valley, and through Bolivar and northern Santander in the
Magdalena Valley.
Birds from extreme western San Blas and Chepo in Panama are
somewhat intermediate toward the subspecies fulviventris.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 169
Myrmotherula fulviventris viduata Hartert
Myrmotherula viduata Hartert, Nov. Zool., vol. 5, December 31, 1898, p. 492.
(Cachavi, northwestern Ecuador. )
Male, more olive on upper and lower surface; female definitely
darker brown on upper surface, and to a lesser degree on the under-
parts.
Pacific slope of Colombia in central Choco from the Rio Jurubida,
inland to the base of the Serrania de Baudo, south to western
Ecuador.
The darker coloration is distinctive and easily evident.
MYRMOTHERULA FULVIVENTRIS FULVIVENTRIS
(Lawrence)
Myrmetherula [sic] fulviventris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc, Nat. Hist. New York,
vol. 7, 1862, p. 468. (Line of Panama Railroad, Atlantic slope, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
Characters.—Averaging slightly darker above and below in both
sexes.
Measurements —Males (10 from western Panama), wing 49.0—
52.6 (50.9), tail 30.7-35.0 (33.0), culmen from base 14.1-16.2
(15.2), tarsus 17.0-18.0 (17.4) mm.
Females (10 from western Panama), wing 47.8-52.3 (50.3), tail
31.7-35.9 (33.1), culmen from base 14.9-16.4 (15.4), tarsus 16.6-
17.0 (16.8) mm.
Weight, ~ 8.5, 9.0; 9 8.8 grams (G. Child, G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Found locally in forested areas on the Caribbean slope,
from western Bocas del Toro (Almirante) east to the northern Canal
Zone and the eastern sector of Colon; on the Pacific slope recorded
from the high southern slope of Cerro Campana, and Chorrera,
western Province of Panama.
This form is widely distributed in the lowland forests of the
Caribbean slope from near the Costa Rican boundary to the northern
Canal Zone.
It was described by Lawrence from male and female collected by
McLeannan and Galbraith near the line of the railroad on the north
slope in what is now the Canal Zone. Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 320) recorded a male from Bocas del Toro
taken March 25, 1928, by von Wedel at 600 meters on the trail
leading to Boquete from the Laguna de Chiriqui. The bird is fairly
common in the vicinity of Almirante where I found it regularly in
January and February 1958. I collected it also at the head of the
170 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Rio Guabal in northern Coclé in 1962, and earlier (1952) had
found it along the Rio Indio in western Province of Colon. Here it
ranged inland to El Uracillo in the Caribbean extension of Coclé.
In the Canal Zone it has been especially common on Barro Colorado
Island where nests with eggs have been recorded in mid-January and
late October.
The only reports from the Pacific slope are from Cerro Campana
in western Province of Panama where I secured a male March 19,
1951, in wet forest at 900 meters, near the summit of the mountain,
and Chorrera, where Richardson secured a pair November 5 and 6,
1914 (specimens in American Museum).
The inclusion by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves,
vol. 2, 1892, p. 210) of “Veraguas (Arcé)” in their range for this
bird is uncertain. Possibly it refers to Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.,
vol. 15, 1890, p. 234) who in the list of specimens in the British
Museum lists “fi ad. sk. Veragua (Arcé) Salvin-Godman Coll.” This
report, from present information, has no validity.
On Barro Colorado Island, Eisenmann (Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
vol. 117, no. 5, 1952, p. 35) lists nests with eggs found by Skutch,
January 14, 1931, and March 29, 1935, and by Allen, October 20,
1944.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 219-221) observed
two males in display perched facing one another on twigs in the
undergrowth. With lowered heads and fluffed out plumage of their
backs, they turned from side to side, rapidly and incessantly repeating
sharp, squeaky notes. They continued this performance for many
minutes, without changing their perches until one flew away and
the other continued calling. During this display several females
flitted around them, taking no part in the dispute.
Two nests seen were deep pouches with narrowed tops suspended
“from a fork at the end of a slender drooping branch in undergrowth
in forest” a little less than 2 meters above the ground. They were
“composed of fibrous materials and partly decayed leaves, with an
inner layer of dead leaves and a lining of fine fibers in the bottom.”
The two eggs were white, finely spotted, and lined with pale lilac
that formed a wreath on the large end. One set measured 18.3 x 13.5,
and 17.5 13.5 mm. Both sexes worked at nest construction and also
shared in incubation.
The eggs described as of this race by Carriker (Ann. Carnegie
Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 608) with measurements of 20.3 14.8 and
22.5 15.5 mm appear large to be of this bird.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 17
MYRMOTHERULA FULVIVENTRIS SALMONI (Chubb)
Rhopias fulviventris salmoni Chubb, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, vol. 2, July
1918, p. 124. (Remedios, Antioquia, Colombia. )
Characters.—Slightly paler above and below in both sexes.
A male, near Cafiita, eastern Province of Panama, on the lower Rio
Bayano, February 6, 1962, had the iris yellow; maxilla dull black ;
mandible neutral gray; tarsus and toes neutral gray, claws dark neu-
tral gray. In another male, from Boca de Paya, Rio Tuira, Darién,
February 22, 1959, in which the iris was light buffy yellow, the fila-
mentous tip of the tongue was dull buffy white, while the fleshy base
was bright light orange. A female taken at Puerto Obaldia, San Blas,
February 16, 1963, had the iris light orange.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 49.1-51.8 (50.1),
tail 31.7-36.4 (34.2), culmen from base 15.2-16.7 (15.7), tarsus 16.3-
1216.7) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 49.0-51.5 (49.9), tail 32.8-34.9
(34.0), culmen from base 13.9-16.4 (14.9), tarsus 16.3-17.0
(16.4) mm.
Resident. Locally common in forested areas on the Pacific slope
from the lower Rio Bayano east through eastern Province of Panama
and Darién; on the Caribbean side throughout San Blas. Specimens
seen from the Rio Pacora and extreme western San Blas (Mandinga)
are somewhat intermediate toward fulviventris.
A series in the Museum of Comparative Zoology was collected
in April 1922 by Barbour and Brooks on Cerro Sapo, and in the area
adjacent on the Rio Esnape and Jesucito. The Fifth George Vander-
bilt Expedition in 1941 took others at Garachiné and Cerro Sapo.
Hasso von Wedel collected numerous specimens at Permé, Ranchon,
and Puerto Obaldia. I found them also at Armila in this area in
1963. In my own investigations these birds were common at Jaqué
in March and April 1946, and on the upper Rio Jaqué in the same
months of 1947. They have been common also along the Rio Tuira
and its tributaries and on the lower Chucunaque. Inland here they
are found on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna at the old Tacarcuna village
site.
MYRMOTHERULA AXILLARIS ALBIGULA Lawrence:
Black Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Negro
Figure 16
Myrmotherula albigula Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1865, p. 131. (Line of the Panama Railroad, Atlantic slope, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
172 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Small; male, black to slaty black, sides and flanks white; female,
dark gray to olive above, cinnamon-buff below, with flanks white as
in the male, throat white.
Beyond Panama this subspecies ranges in Colombia from the
western side of the Gulf of Uraba east to the lower Magdalena
Valley.
Description—Length 90-100 mm. Adult male, above black to
slate; outer scapulars and most of lesser wing coverts white; middle
and greater coverts with a white spot at tip; inner primaries and
secondaries in some edged and tipped narrowly with white ; tail tipped
lightly with white (this mark often lost from wear); forepart of
under surface and abdomen black; under tail coverts black, tipped
with white; sides, flanks, under wing coverts, and inner webs of
primaries clear white.
Adult female, anterior line of forehead grayish to dull cinnamon;
upper surface, dark gray to dull olive, becoming brownish on lower
back ; upper tail coverts dull brown; tail dull brown, tipped and edged
narrowly with dull cinnamon; wing coverts in some with obscure
spots of dull cinnamon-brown; wings edged narrowly with dull
cinnamon-brown; side of head dull gray, spotted obscurely with
white ; throat white; rest of under surface buff, including under wing
coverts, and inner margins of primaries; under tail coverts cinnamon-
buff.
Juvenile male, crown blackish slate; back and scapulars dull
brownish black; upper tail coverts dull grayish brown; wings dull
fuscous-black, with wing coverts spotted and primaries edged nar-
rowly with pale cinnamon-buff; throat dull white, barred indistinctly
with black; lower foreneck and breast dull buffy brown; lower
abdomen and flanks white; under wing coverts as in adult.
A male, collected at Cafiita, Panama, February 6, 1952, had the
iris wood brown; bill black, tarsus, toes, and claws bluish neutral
gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Panama), wing 51.0—-54.3 (52.2),
tail 30.4-34.5 (32.7), culmen from base 14.0-15.1 (14.4), tarsus
15.5-16.7 (15.9) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 48.9-50.9 (49.7), tail 30.0-
31.9 (30.9), culmen from base 13.5-14.9 (14.3), tarsus 15.4-15.9
(15.6) mm.
Resident. Common in regions of heavy forest. On the Pacific
slope from Cerro Campana, Cerro Azul, and Chepo, Province of
Panama, east through Darién to the Colombian boundary. On the
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 078
Caribbean slope throughout from western Bocas del Toro to eastern
San Blas (Puerto Obaldia).
The most western record on the Pacific slope, a single female, was
collected March 12, 1951, in high forest at 850 meters on the south
face of Cerro Campana. Others taken in this same woodland during
the week of March 10 to 20 were all Myrmotherula schisticolor.
From Cerro Azul, Chepo, and the Rio Chiman eastward through
FicurE 16.—Black ant-wren, hormiguerito negro, Myrmotherula axillaris
albigula.
Darién M. a. albigula was common. It was recorded by Barbour and
Brooks in 1922 in numbers from Garachiné and the lower Sambu
Valley. In my own field studies I found it distributed through the
Chucunaque-Tuira drainage, including the lower slopes of Cerro
Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna.
Where they are common these ant-wrens range in small flocks that
move actively with low chattering calls in scattered company through
the top of the undergrowth and in the lower branches of the trees. In
these small groups, frequently they flit the wings quickly, an action
174 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
that in the black males displays a flash of color from the long, white
feathers of the sides and flanks. Regularly I found them in friendly
association with the Fulvous Ant-wren (Myrmotherula fulviventris).
Occasionally also they were in low growth with other species that
gathered over moving swarms of ants. They were in breeding con-
dition from February to May, when males gave low trilling songs.
On Barro Colorado Island, where they are common, nests have been
recorded in April and May. Goldman on May 2, 1911, collected
two eggs, slightly incubated, near Gatun, Canal Zone. His notes
describe the nest site as a meter above the ground in the top of a small
bush under shelter of a large palm leaf, on a steep hillside in heavy
forest. The cup-shaped nest, hung between two forks, was made of
fibrous leaf fragments and hairlike vegetable fibers, lined with the
latter material. It was about 90 millimeters in diameter with the
rather deep cup 50 millimeters across and about the same in depth.
The eggs are white, without gloss, heavily marked with rather dull
reddish brown, mainly as a broad wreath around the larger end, with
a few scattered dots and irregular spots elsewhere. In form they
are between subelliptical and oval, one being more rounded at the
small end than the other. They measure 18.0X11.8 and 17.3x
12.1 mm. Skutch (Condor, 1946, pp. 21-27) gives size for four
eggs as 16.7-17.5 x 12.3-12.7 mm. He found male and female sharing
in incubation during the day, with the female alone at night. The
newly hatched young “were pink with blackish heads and were devoid
of the slightest trace of natal down.” Nestlings were fed and
brooded by both parents.
The food, as found in stomachs of those that I have collected, is
composed of small insects and spiders. A typical example, taken
by E. A. Goldman, June 4, 1912, at Cana on Cerro Pirre, Darién,
was filled with remains of spiders and of insects among which I
identified a small tenebrionid beetle, eight pentatomid eggs, the jaws
of an orthopteran, and bits of two ants.
As a species Myrmotherula axillaris has an extensive range from
southeastern Honduras south on the Caribbean slope in eastern
Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica, and Panama to Cerro Azul where it
shifts to include the Pacific slope also, and continues in South
America, from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad, south to Bolivia
and southern Brazil. Those from Central America and Colombia
east to the lower Magdalena Valley, and south along the Pacific Coast
to western Ecuador, in series differ in the female in average darker
coloration above, with the rump and upper tail coverts only faintly
if at all rufescent. These are the subspecies albigula.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 175
In eastern Colombia and western and southern Venezuela, south
to eastern Pert and northwestern Brazil, females average more olive-
brown above, with edgings in the primaries more rufescent, rump
and upper tail coverts more cinnamon-brown and the spots on the
wing coverts much less evident and more cinnamon-brown. These
have been recognized as Myrmotherula axillaris melaena (Sclater ).
Males (130 examined) in the two groups are highly variable from
dark gray to black. Females (84 compared), with considerable indi-
vidual variation, may be separated as indicated but only in series.
MYRMOTHERULA SCHISTICOLOR SCHISTICOLOR
(Lawrence): Slaty Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Pizarroso
Formicivora schisticolor Lawrence, Ann, Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1865, p. 172. (Turrialba, Costa Rica. )
Small; male, dark gray, black from chin to breast; female, dark
brown above and below, including flanks.
Description—Length 90-105 mm. Tail longer than in M. a.
albiguia. Adult male, upper surface, including tail, slate color; a
small white patch, mainly concealed, at junction of wing and body;
lesser, middle, and greater coverts slaty black to black, tipped with
white: rest of wing like back, with outer primaries edged faintly
with grayish brown; malar area black, barred with slate ; chin, throat,
foreneck, and in some upper breast, black; rest of central under sur-
face slate color; under tail coverts edged and tipped with white, each
feather with a subterminal bar of black; under wing coverts mixed
white, slate, and black ; inner margins of wing feathers white.
Adult female, forehead narrowly buff to cinnamon-buff; crown
and hindneck buffy olive-brown; back, scapulars, and upper tail
coverts grayer, less olive; tail dark brown, edged with russet-brown ;
primaries and secondaries edged with dull reddish brown; tips of
wing coverts dull cinnamon-brown, forming poorly defined spots;
sides of head grayish buff to buff; chin and throat buff; rest of under-
parts tawny-buff to clay color, darker, more olive on sides and flanks ;
under wing coverts and inner edging of wing feathers cinnamon-
buff.
Immature male, like female, with the throat and foreneck early
becoming mixed with the black of the adult.
Nestling, above Vandyke brown, with the tail duller ; under surface
russet.
An adult male, taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 24, 1964,
had the iris reddish brown; bill black, with neutral gray border on
the base of the cutting edge in maxilla and mandible and the gape;
176 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tarsus, toes, and claws bluish neutral gray; top of the tongue and
fauces orange.
An immature male, in which only a slight amount of black had
appeared on the throat, taken at the same point on February 21, had
the iris dark brown; bill black with a narrow line of dull white on
posterior half of cutting edge; gape faintly honey yellow; tarsus,
toes, and claws dark neutral gray; tip of tongue and inside of mouth
orange.
An adult female, collected at El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 15, 1965,
had the iris dark brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 55.5—58.3 (57.1),
tail 34.2-39.4 (36.1), culmen from base 13.6-15.1 (14.2), tarsus
16.1-16.9 (16.4) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 52.4-56.3 (54.4), tail 33.3-
36.7, (35.0), culmen from base 13.0-14.5 (13.9), tarsus 16.1-16.8
(16.4) mm.
Alden Miller (Univ. Cal. Publ. Zool., vol. 66, 1963, p. 25) re-
corded weights of MW. s. schisticolor at San Antonio, Valle, Colombia,
in three males as 10.0 to 10.8 grams, and in one female as 9.8 grams.
Resident. Locally common on the Pacific slope in areas of forest,
from western Chiriqui, mainly in the upper Tropical and Subtropical
zones, less frequently in the lowlands; less common in the Azuero
Peninsula; not recorded between Cerro Campana and Cerro Azul.
Recorded at the Rio Calovévora, Caribbean slope of Veraguas.
This is the most common ant-wren of the western half of the
Pacific slope in the Republic, east to and including Cerro Campana.
After a brief break in the range through the lowlands where the Canal
crosses the Isthmus, it appears again on Cerro Azul. Beyond, they
are at present recorded on Cerro Pirre and on the slopes of Cerro
Tacarcuna. While they are most common in the mountain forest,
where they range to 1750 meters in western Chiriqui, they are found
also at lower elevations in this western area. Bangs (Auk, 1901,
p. 365) recorded four taken at Divala, Chiriqui, by W. W. Brown,
Jr., in 1900, and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 195)
received specimens collected by Arcé at Bugaba, Chiriqui, and (idem,
1867, p. 144) at Santiago, Veraguas. There are two, male and female,
in the American Museum of Natural History from Calovévora,
northern Veraguas, on the Caribbean side, collected by Benson and
Gaffney August 12 and 25, 1926.
On March 17, 1957, in a small tract of virgin forest, about 5 miles
southwest of Pedasi, Los Santos, in the southern end of the Azuero
Peninsula, I secured a single female, the only one seen. As further
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 1977
indication of occurrence, there are two specimens, now in the
Carnegie Museum, collected by Dr. John W. Aldrich in 1932 on
the western side of the Peninsula, inland from the Golfo de Montijo,
one on the Rio Mariato, taken February 24, and one at 600 meters
on Cerro Viejo, farther in the interior, on March 6. At the time in
question, species in some of the ant-wrens and their plumages were
not well understood as few specimens then were available. The two
mentioned, both immature males, were beginning to change to the
adult status with a few black feathers appearing on the throat. On
examination of them, through the courtesy of Dr. Kenneth Parkes,
they prove to be schisticolor instead of Myrmotherula fulviventris
as originally recorded (Aldrich, Sci. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 7, 1937, pp. 87-88).
In the highland forests of Chiriqui these ant-wrens were found in
the main with the groups of small birds that ranged in loose company
through the lower levels of the trees. It is their custom to move
quickly in fluttering flight among the branches. As they alight under
cover of leaves, usually they freeze motionless for several seconds,
and then if there is no alarm continue movement, but still under
cover, in search of the small insects and spiders that form their
principal food. Their soft calls give contact with others of the group.
The single stomach on which I have made detailed analysis, a male
taken on Cerro Pirre in June, held remains of Homoptera (Fulgo-
ridae) and many fragments of spiders.
In February those that I collected on the slopes of Cerro Tacar-
cuna were in full breeding condition.
In Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 209-
213) found them breeding from March through May. The nest,
placed in undergrowth in forest at from less than a meter to nearly
2 meters above the ground, was a small cup of fine black fibers bound
with cobweb, suspended in a horizontal fork, woven thinly so that the
contents were outlined from the sides and below. The two eggs are
white or cream colored with coarse dark markings and lines on much
of the surface, in some forming a band around the larger end. Mea-
surements made from seven ranged from 17.1—18.3 x 13.1-13.5 mm.
The young at hatching were dark skinned with no down. Male and
female incubated, the latter alone through the night, and both fed
the young. In one distraction display a male dropped from the nest
nearly to the ground where he clung to a slender stem with slowly
beating spread wings, displaying a small white area at each wing base.
The male may be slow in changing to adult dress, and so be mated
while still in a transition stage.
178 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
HERPSILOCHMUS RUFOMARGINATUS EXIGUUS Nelson:
Rufous-winged Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Alirufo
Herpsilochmus rufomarginatus exiguus Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60,
no. 3, September 24 (27), 1912, p. 11. (Cana, Cerro Pirre, 1050 meters
elevation, Darién, Panama. )
Small, slender; wing prominently rufous, with shoulder black.
Description —Length 100-110 mm. Adult male, crown, hindneck,
broad line down back and rump black, the back and rump bordered by
dark gray, which continues on upper tail coverts; outer scapulars
edged with white; wing coverts black, the middle and greater series
tipped with white to form two prominent wing bars; tertials and
inner primaries edged with white, primaries and secondaries bordered
widely with rufous on outer margins forming a prominent band;
rectrices black, the central ones tipped with white, the two outer
feathers edged and tipped broadly with white; a prominent white
superciliary streak; broad line from the lores through eye, black;
side of head and most of upper foreneck white; lower foreneck,
breast and abdomen light yellow; under tail coverts white; under
wing coverts, edge of wing, and inner margins of wing feathers white.
Adult female, crown and hindneck dull rufous; back and rump
dull brownish gray, paler posteriorly on the upper tail coverts;
streak through eye duller rufous than crown; otherwise as in male.
Measurements—Males (5 from Darién and northwestern Co-
lombia), wing 48.2-51.7 (49.6), tail 36.0-38.3 (37.1), culmen from
base 15.5-16.5 (16.0), tarsus 18.0-19.0 (18.6) mm.
Female (1 from Darién), wing 48.4, tail 36.8, culmen from base
16.1, tarsus 18.1 mm.
Resident. Rare in forested areas in Darién; recorded from Cerro
Sapo, Cerro Pirre, and the lower Tuira-Chucunaque Valley.
This interesting race was named from two specimens collected in
1912 by E. A. Goldman, a male (the type) on Cerro Pirre, above
Cana, June 6, and a female at Boca de Cupe on the lower Rio Tuira,
June 18. Griscom secured one and saw another at Garachiné in
February 1927, and the George Vanderbilt Expedition collected five
at Garachiné and Cerro Sapo (at 900 meters) in April and May 1941.
Near the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa on the Rio Chucunaque, on
March 29, 1959, I found a male with a mixed group of small forest
birds that searched the crown of a fairly high tree in open forest. In
its movements this bird resembled its companion Myrmotherulas
fluttering from one bunch of leaves to another, and then, on alight-
ing, remaining motionless for a minute or two under cover before
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 179
beginning its search for food. One in the Gorgas Memorial Labora-
tory was taken on the Rio Mono, Darién, in January 1969.
In the stomach of the male taken by Goldman on Cerro Pirre I
found remains of spiders, bits of a lygaeid, a homopteran, a chryso-
melid and other coleoptera not identified, and remains of earwigs.
Specimens of this race taken by M. A. Carriker, Jr., in north-
western Colombia, include a male from Socarré on the Rio Sint in
the Department of Cordoba, and another from Santa Rosa, near
the Rio Magdalena, in the southern Department of Bolivar.
MICRORHOPIAS QUIXENSIS (Cornalia) : Dotted-winged
Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Alipunteado
Thamnophilus quixensis E. Cornalia, Vertebratorum Syn. Mus. Mediolanense
extentium (Osculati coll.), 1849, pp. 6, 12. (Quixos = Rio Quijos, eastern
Ecuador. )
A small ant-wren, with tail nearly as long as wing; male black,
with wing barred and spotted with white; female, above like male,
under surface cinnamon-brown to chestnut.
Description —Length 100-110 mm; with large white patch on back,
concealed by dark feather tips. Adult male, black, usually with sides
and flanks slate gray ; center of back broadly white, concealed by the
black tips of the long feathers ; lesser and middle wing coverts spotted
with white; greater coverts broadly tipped with white, to make a
prominent wing band; tail tipped with white; axillars, under wing
coverts, and inner margins of wing feathers white; in some the lateral
feathers of the breast, and occasionally the sides with narrow, con-
cealed shaft lines of pure white.
Adult female, upper surface, wings and tail like male, but usually
more grayish black, especially on the crown; under surface cinnamon-
rufous to chestnut; under wing coverts and edgings of primaries
white.
Juvenile, sooty black above; wing and tail markings reduced in
extent; under surface in male brownish black: in female dull rufous
with a sooty wash, especially on the sides.
When the wing is fully grown in the immature male, the tips of
the secondaries are dotted with white, a marking that tends to
disappear with wear as the bird becomes older.
The species is one of extensive range on the Caribbean slope from
southern México through Central America to Costa Rica, and then
on both Pacific and Atlantic sides through Panama; in South America
in the west from Colombia (east to the middle Magdalena Valley
180 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and eastern Narifio) south through Ecuador, eastern Pert, north-
eastern Bolivia, and Brazil south of the Amazon; and in the east in
eastern Surinam, French Guiana, and northeastern Brazil (Amapa).
Two subspecies are found in Panama.
These are mainly forest birds ranging in open forest and forest
edge from the undergrowth to the lower tree crown, sometimes singly
or in pairs, often with flocks of other ant-wrens and small birds that
travel in company. Usually they are less secretive than the species
of Myrmotherula which often are their associates. In color and
plumage pattern they are definitely attractive. As they move about
they utter low chattering scolding calls, usually higher pitched than
those of other small ant-wrens. Occasionally I have heard them give
rapid, trilling songs. Often in display males expand the back feathers
so that the white, normally concealed, is shown prominently.
MICRORHOPIAS QUIXENSIS VIRGATA (Lawrence)
Formicivora virgata Lawrence, Ibis, ser. i, vol. 5, April 1863, p. 182. (Lion
Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters.—White tip on outer rectrices 5-7 mm long; male, with
flanks slate color; female, lighter cinnamon-rufous on the under
surface.
A male taken at Cafiita, on the lower Rio Bayano, eastern Province
of Panama, February 6, 1962, had the iris dark brown; posterior
three-quarters of the cutting edges of maxilla and mandible neutral
gray ; rest of bill black ; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ; claws black.
Another male, collected at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 22,
1966, differed in having the iris reddish brown, and the tarsus, toes,
and claws bluish slate.
A female from Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 17, 1961, had
the iris dark brown; side of maxilla from base forward to halfway
between the nostril and the tip, and the side of the mandible, except
the tip, neutral gray; rest of bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws dark
neutral gray. One taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 22,
1966, differed in having the iris dark reddish brown, and the claws
black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Panama), wing 48.2-
51.7 (49.7), tail 41.5-45.5 (43.5), culmen from base 14.2-14.9
(14.5), tarsus 15.2-16.0 (15.5) mm.
Females (10 from western Panama), wing 46.5-49.9 (48.1), tail
40.0-44.4 (42.6), culmen from base 13.7-15.6 (14.6), tarsus 15.1-
15.9 (15.4) mm.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 181
Resident. Found in the tropical lowlands in western and central
Panama; recorded on both slopes though more widespread on the
Caribbean side. Recorded in western Chiriqui, from Puerto Ar-
muelles, Bugaba, and Divala; appears again on Cerro Azul, the lower
Rio Bayano (Caftita) ; intergrades with M. gq. consobrina on the Rio
Chiman and Rio Majé; distributed on the Caribbean side from the
Costa Rican boundary in Bocas del Toro, east through the northern
Canal Zone, the lower Chagres Valley above Madden Lake, and
western San Blas (Mandinga).
In Chiriqui, Arcé collected this bird near Bugaba a hundred years
ago (Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 195), and W. W.
Brown, Jr., found it at Divala in November and December, 1900
(Bangs, Auk, 1901, p. 365). Specimens in the California Academy
of Sciences from Puerto Armuelles were taken in 1929 by Mrs. M. E.
Davidson. In 1966, I found a few in that area, inland adjacent to
the hills on the Costa Rican boundary, but elsewhere did not encounter
it as the forests in the lowland area had been cut except along the
streams.
On the Caribbean side, it is a common species through the forests
in the lowlands and the lower foothills. I found it common near
Almirante, Bocas del Toro, in 1958, and on the Rio Indio, western
Col6n, inland to the foothills on the Caribbean slope of Coclé. It is
seen regularly through the northern Canal Zone, and the lower
Chagres Valley to western San Blas at Mandinga. The single speci-
men taken by Goldman on Cerro Bruja appears to be intermediate
toward the following subspecies. At Cerro Azul it appears on the
Pacific slope, and continues through the eastern sector of the
Province of Panama to the lower Rio Bayano at Cafiita and east to
the Rio Majé and Cerro Chucanti where it intergrades with the race
consobrina.
These birds are common on Barro Colorado Island in the Canal
Zone, where Skutch found them nest-building on February 22, 1935.
Here R. A. Johnson saw them ranging briefly over raiding swarms
of ants. He reported a nest found February 5, 1948 (Auk, 1953,
p. 496) in a small bush in the forest slightly more than a meter above
the ground. It was “a deep cup, with thick sides, suspended from the
fork of two branches . . . composed of dead leaves bound together
with plant fibers and lined with finer black fibers.” It measured
in outside diameter approximately 75 mm, inside diameter 45 mm,
and inside depth 45 mm. The two eggs were “white with small brown
spots over the entire surface and with heavier blotches around the
182 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
large end.” The male was incubating when the nest was first found.
The newly hatched young were without down.
The male type came to George N. Lawrence from McLeannan,
stationmaster at Lion Hill on the Panama Railroad, so that the type
locality is accepted as that point. In the original description Lawrence
noted “feathers on the sides of the breast marked along their shafts
with a narrow stripe of white, which reaches nearly to their ends—
these marks being only apparent on raising the feathers.” This pat-
tern is not universal but is present in occasional specimens, usually
as narrow lines on the feather shafts.
MICRORHOPIAS QUIXENSIS CONSOBRINA (Sclater)
Formicivora consobrina P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28, August
1860, p. 279. (Babahoyo, Ecuador. )
Characters —White tip on outer rectrices 9-12 mm long; male
with flanks slate-black to black; female with under surface decidedly
darker, deep chestnut.
A male taken at Armila, San Blas, February 26, 1963, had the iris
dark brown. The colors of bill and feet in general were those of the
race virgata.
Measurements—Males (10 from Darién and San Blas), wing
48.0-52.0 (49.6), tail 42.7-46.9 (45.0), culmen from base 13.8-15.6
(14.9), tarsus 15.1-16.0 (15.5) mm.
Females (10 from Darién and San Blas), wing 46.5-50.0 (48.1),
tail 42.5-47.0 (45.4), culmen from base 13.6-15.2 (14.6, average
of 9), tarsus 15.2-15.9 (15.5) mm.
Resident. Common in lowland forests through Darién, and in
eastern San Blas to the Colombian boundary; to 550-575 meters on
Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna.
On the whole the birds of this race are less common than those of
the form of central and western Panama. Bangs and Barbour (Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 207) reported them from Cerro
Sapo and the lowlands eastward to Jesucito. There is a male in the
U.S. National Museum collected by the botanist R. S. Williams at
Cana on Cerro Pirre in April 1908, and another taken there by
Goldman in June 1912. Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69,
1929, p. 168) received a male and three females, taken near Cana by
Benson in 1928. In work in the Tuira Valley I found them distributed
widely from El Real along the Chucunaque and Tuira Rivers to the
base of Cerro Tacarcuna at the old village site on the Rio Tacarcuna.
They were common at Jaqué and on the lower Rio Jaqué, near the
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 183
coast toward the boundary with Colombia. I collected them also at
Armila in eastern San Blas in 1963.
Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 14, 1967, p. 38) stated that he had
one egg in his collection, and had seen nine others in the cabinet of
Passler. He described them as creamy white, without gloss, marked
with small spots of lilac-gray, dark purple-gray, and dark violet-
brown. He gives the measurements as 16.0-18.7 x 12.3-13.3 mm.
The subspecies consobrina ranges across northern Colombia to the
lower Cauca and Magdalena valleys, and south in the west to western
Ecuador.
FORMICIVORA GRISEA ALTICINCTA Bangs: Black-breasted
Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Pechinegro
Formicivora alticincta Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, March
31, 1902, p. 71. (Isla del Rey, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Panama. )
Small warbler size; under surface in male, black with white sides,
in female buff ; color pattern like that in the Dotted-winged Ant-wren,
but bird definitely larger.
Description.—Length 110-120 mm. Without concealed white patch
on back. Adult male, forehead and a prominent superciliary, extend-
ing back to nape, white; upper surface from crown to rump dark
grayish brown; pileum with faintly indicated dark streaks; upper
tail coverts tipped with white to buff; wings black, shoulder white;
wing coverts tipped with white, forming a broad band on the greater
coverts; inner primaries and secondaries edged lightly with buffy
white; two outermost rectrices tipped and edged widely with white ;
others with narrower white tips, with those on the central pair often
worn or missing; side of head, foreneck, breast, abdomen, and under
tail coverts black; sides and flanks white; under wing coverts black,
spotted distally with white; inner webs of primaries white.
Adult female, above rather dull brown; side of head, throat, and
abdomen white; tibia white, with partly concealed bases of feathers
black; breast and sides buff; otherwise like the adult male.
Immature male, sides light cinnamon-buff; breast blotched irregu-
larly with black and white.
On the label of a male in the British Museum the collector, H. J.
Kelsall, noted the iris as dark brown, bill dark horn, legs and feet
slatish blue.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Islas San José, Pedro Gonzalez,
and del Rey), wing 52.8-55.9 (54.1), tail 43.5-46.8 (45.1), culmen
from base 15.8-17.2 (16.6), tarsus 19.7-20.9 (20.6) mm.
184 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Females (10 from islas San José, Pedro Gonzalez, and Rey), wing
50.6-54.0 (52.6), tail 41.5-45.6 (43.8), culmen from base 15.4-17.1
(16.1), tarsus 20.8-21.5 (21.2) mm.
Resident. Recorded from islas San José, Pedro Gonzalez, Rey,
Saboga, and Viveros, Archipiélago de las Perlas.
The first published record of this subspecies is that of Bangs (Auk,
1901, p. 30) of two adult males collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., near
San Miguel on Isla del Rey April 30 and May 1, 1901. The following
year Bangs described these birds as a form new to science. In a
second visit from the end of February to the latter part of April
1904, Brown secured a further series of 13 birds, including females
and one juvenile male (Thayer and Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 46, September 1905, p. 150). An earlier specimen taken by
Dr. Carl Bovallius April 7, 1882 on Isla Viveros, in the Zoological
Museum of the University of Uppsala, Sweden, was brought to at-
tention by H. Rendahl (Ark. Zool., vol. 13, 1920, pp. 41-42). It is the
only report for that island. Eugene Eisenmann recorded it on Isla
Saboga. Another male in the British Museum (Natural History) was
collected June 24, 1924, at Bahia Santelmo in the south of Isla del
Rey. In February and March 1944, I found them common on Isla
San José, and on March 9 and 11 of that year equally common on
Isla Pedro Gonzalez. In a second visit to San José from March 7 to
9, 1947, these birds were especially abundant in the northern end of
the island.
This interesting bird, known locally as the pavita, the most com-
mon of the smaller birds on Isla San José, was found under cover
from the borders of the coastal mangrove swamps inland to the high
forest and to the dense mats of vines that covered many of the more
open slopes. They ranged warbler-fashion through the undergrowth
into the lower areas of the tree crown. In these heavily shaded areas
their dark dorsal coloration was protective, but if I moved about
quietly, frequently they came near at hand. Then the flashes of white
in flanks and under surface, and their steady flitting of wings and tail,
attracted the eye. Near the ground in tangles of vines they tended to
hide, and then were seen with difficulty. In such circumstances their
presence was indicated by their low call, terp terp terp. In early
March, males began to sing a steadily repeated note suggestive of
that of the Barred Ant-shrike, the Pavita Rayada. Enlargement of
the gonads at this season indicated the beginning of nesting.
They seem to be less common on Isla del Rey, judging from the
few that have been collected there. I did not find them in an area
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 185
near the mouth of the Rio Cacique at the head of Bahia Santelmo
in the southern end of the island in late January 1960, as here much
of the forest had been cut. Nor did I see them at Mafofa on the
southern peninsula in examination of the cover adjacent to the air-
strip in several journeys when the plane stopped there briefly.
The subspecies alticincta is closely similar to the race hondae
found in northwestern Colombia, from the eastern shore of Golfo de
Uraba (Necocli) eastward mainly in the departments of Cordoba and
Bolivar, differing in darker dorsal coloration in both male and female,
and also in decidedly heavier bill. Relationship obviously is close
between these two. The race intermedia from the Santa Marta
area, west through Guajira into northern Venezuela, differs strongly
in the spotted breast and foreneck of the female, as well as in the
more slender bill of both sexes.
TERENURA CALLINOTA CALLINOTA (Sclater): Rufous-backed
Ant-wren, Hormiguerito Lomo Acanelado
Formicivora callinota P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 23, July 23,
1855, p. 89, pl. 96. (Bogota, Colombia. )
Small, slender; crown black; lower back and rump rufous.
Description—Length 97-100 mm. Male, crown dull black; lower
hindneck, upper back, and scapulars greenish olive; upper back
streaked with black, with a concealed patch of rufous ; lower back and
rump rufous-chestnut; upper tail coverts pale greenish olive; inner
lesser wing coverts bright yellow; outer lesser coverts black ; middle
and greater wing coverts dull black tipped with yellowish white; pri-
maries and secondaries dusky, edged narrowly with greenish olive;
tail dull grayish brown, tipped faintly with white; lores and narrow
superciliary grayish white; side of head dull gray; edge of eyelids,
above and below, and a line behind the eye black; ramal area white ;
throat, foreneck, and upper breast dull white, becoming grayish
toward sides; sides and lower breast somewhat greenish yellow;
flanks, abdomen, and under tail coverts brighter yellow; under wing
coverts and axillars pale yellow.
Female, crown grayish olive; otherwise somewhat duller than
male.
Measurements.—Males (3 from Veraguas, Darién, and Huila,
Colombia), wing 48.0-53.2 (50.3), tail 37.5-44.8 (40.9), culmen
from base 13.5-13.8 (13.6), tarsus 14.7-16.6 (15.6) mm.
Females (8 from Chiriqui, southern Colombia, and western Ecua-
186 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
dor), wing 49.9-53.7 (52.1), tail 35.5-47.2 (41.7), culmen from base
13.3-15.6 (13.9), tarsus 14.9-16.1 (15.4) mm.
Resident. Known in the Republic from two males, one from
Calobre, Veraguas, one from Cerro Mali, Darién; and two females,
one from 1200 meters on Cerro de Nique, Darién, the other of
uncertain locality.
The bird from Calobre, collected by Arcé, according to Salvin and
Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 213) ‘‘was sent
to us . . . by our collector Arcé after the second list of his birds
published in 1870, was issued.” The specimen, in the British Museum
(Natural History), labeled from Calobre, Veraguas, does not have
the date of collection. A female in the American Museum of Natural
History, purchased by Rothschild from the dealer Rosenberg, labeled
“Chiriqui, 1899,” without other data, from its appearance also may
have been prepared by Arcé. A male taken on the summit of Cerro
Mali, June 4, 1963, and the female netted April 17, 1972, on Cerro de
Nique, both by Galindo, are recent records.
The only note, other than records of specimens, that I have seen
concerning these small birds, is that of Taczanowski (Ornith. Pérou,
vol. 2, 1884, p. 52) with the description of a female taken in Pert.
Here he quotes the collector Jelski who said that he collected it from a
wandering flock moving among the terminal leaves of branches.
The specimen in question, listed originally as T. callinota, has been
referred to the related T. humeralis. Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no.
584, 1932, p. 4) remarks that humeralis and callinota ‘appear closely
related perhaps as conspecies.”’
CERCOMACRA TYRANNINA (Sclater): Tyrannine Ant-bird,
Hormiguerito Tiranuelo
Pyriglena tyrannina P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, July 23, 1855, p.
90, pl. 98. (Bogota, Colombia. )
A small inhabitant of thickets and forest; male dark gray with
white wing bars, female rufous-brown below, olive-brown above.
Description—Length 125-140 mm. Adult male, slate color, darker
above, paler below, with rump, upper tail coverts, and flanks more or
less olive ; wing coverts tipped with white ; anterior inner lesser coverts
more or less white; wings dusky to black, with alula and outermost
primary edged narrowly with white; others bordered with slate or
dull olive ; a large dorsal area pure white, concealed by darker feather
tips; under wing coverts slate, in part tipped with white; inner
margins of primaries and secondaries edged with white; rectrices
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 187
tipped narrowly with white (this often wholly lost through wear).
Adult female, above olive to grayish olive; wings dusky-brown,
edged narrowly with olive to ochraceous-olive ; alula edged with buff ;
in some, the wing coverts, especially the greater row, tipped lightly
with ochraceous ; tail also darker ; lores and in some the nasal capsule
feathering ochraceous; side of head, in some the ramal area, mixed
olive and tawny-ochraceous; chin and upper throat ochraceous;
lower throat, breast, abdomen, under tail coverts, and tibia tawny-
ochraceous ; sides and flanks strongly olive; under wing coverts and
inner edging of primaries and secondaries buff to ochraceous.
Immature male, like female but averaging darker.
These are quiet birds of forests in the Tropical Zone, found in
pairs, and located mainly through the low trilling song of the male,
a quiet repetition of a single note, heard usually from behind thin
screens of slender vines that cloak shrubs and the lower trees. When
located by their notes usually they decoy easily. In addition to the
song they have low sibilant calls, varied occasionally to chattering
notes.
Little has been recorded of the habits of these birds. Two sub-
species are found in the Republic.
CERCOMACRA TYRANNINA CREPERA Bangs
Cercomacra crepera Bangs, Auk, vol. 18, no. 4, October 1901, p. 365. (Divala,
Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters.—Darker; adult male, above dull black to blackish
slate ; under surface dark slate to blackish slate. Females darker above,
and deeper tawny below.
A male, taken near El Volcan, March 14, 1965, had the iris light
mouse brown; bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray.
In a female, secured at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 1,
1966, the iris was brownish gray; maxilla fuscous-black, with the
cutting edge brownish gray ; side of mandible dull neutral gray ; gonys
pale brownish white ; cutting edge and gape dull honey yellow; tarsus
and toes as in male.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro),
wing 61.9-65.2 (63.5), tail 53.4-61.0 (56.3), culmen from base
17.6-19.8 (19.0), tarsus 21.9-23.0 (22.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Bocas del Toro, and Costa
Rica), wing 59.0-63.3 (61.3), tail 52.1-59.1 (57.2, average of 9),
culmen from base 17.4-18.8 (18.1), tarsus 21.0-23.8 (22.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common, mainly in Tropical Zone forests on both
188 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
slopes, in Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and northern Veraguas, ranging
upward to the lower Subtropical Zone in Chiriqui and Bocas del
Toro; found near 1525 meters on the slopes of Cerro Pando, beyond
El Volcan, and at 750 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, Bocas
del Toro.
Beyond Panama this race ranges on the Caribbean slope from
southeastern México through Central America to Nicaragua, and on
both Pacific and Caribbean sides from Costa Rica into western
Panama.
I have found them fairly common in Chiriqui from near El Volcan
west beyond Santa Clara toward Costa Rica, near Buena Vista, on
the upper Rio Escarrea, in the Puerto Armuelles area at Aguacaton
near the sea, and along the Rio San Bartolo at the base of the hills
that mark the Costa Rican boundary. One in the British Museum
(Natural History) was taken by Arcé at Mina de Chorcha, near
David in 1869. There are specimens in the American Museum of
Natural History from Bugaba and Boqueron, Chiriqui, and the Rio
Calovévora, on the Caribbean slope of northern Veraguas.
A nest found by Wharton Huber (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila-
delphia, 1932, p. 226) was a “more or less globular pendant affair
hanging from the end of a very thin limb. It is carefully attached
and woven to the end of two twigs having a bunch of green leaves
at their ends. The entrance is near the top and on one side, nearly
roofed over. Composed of dry leaves and palm shreds woven to-
gether with the long shredded stems of ferns, some of these from
stems hanging down eighteen inches below the nest. The lining is
of fine fern stems, the whole nest with its green moss and long
dripping fern stems looks just like so many other bunches of moss
hanging everywhere that without the singing bird on the nest it
would never have been noticed.”” The two eggs, heavily incubated
were ‘‘creamy white spotted chiefly around the larger end with dark
vinaceous brown with a slight violet tint.” They measured 22x16
and 21.5x16 mm. This nest was brooded by the male, which sang
steadily with his head thrust out the entrance. The female was not
seen.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 229-235) on Barro
Colorado Island and in southwestern Costa Rica, found them choos-
ing nest sites in the more open areas of forest, or at the outer border.
The nesting season extended from February to October. The nest,
located from a little more than half a meter to about 24 meters from
the ground was “a deep, pensile pouch with a strongly oblique
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 189
opening at the top. It is composed of leaves and fibers and is slung
below the fork of a drooping slender branch or vine.” Both sexes
build and share the incubation, with the female on the nest through
the night. The two eggs in one set were dull white, spotted with
reddish brown with the markings heaviest on the large end. One set
of two measured 20.6 14.3 and 21.4x15.1 mm. Another single
egg was spotted only on the larger end. It measured 19.4 14.3 mm.
The young on hatching are black and bare of down.
CERCOMACRA TYRANNINA RUFIVENTRIS (Lawrence)
Disythamnus (sic) rufiventris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol.
8, 1865, p. 131. (Line of Panama Railroad, Caribbean slope, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
Characters —Lighter colored ; adult male, paler throughout; slate
color above, grayish slate color underneath; female lighter brown
above, lighter rufous on under surface.
A male taken on Cerro Galera, Canal Zone, January 8, 1961, had
the iris light buffy brown; bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws dark
neutral gray. Another of this sex, collected at Cafita, Panama,
February 6, 1962, had the iris dark mouse brown; bill black; tarsus,
toes, and claws neutral gray. A third from the old Tacarcuna village
site, on the upper Rio Tacarcuna, Darién, March 7, 1964, had the iris
mouse brown; base of gonys fuscous; rest of bill black; tarsus and
toes bluish neutral gray ; claws dark neutral gray.
In a female taken with the male from Cerro Galera, Canal Zone,
the iris was pale brownish buff; maxilla fuscous, mandible dull buffy
white, with a narrow line of neutral gray on either side from base to
near tip where the two joined; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral
gray. One taken at Cafiita, Panama, February 6, 1962, had the iris
dark brown; maxilla, except cutting edge, fuscous-black; cutting
edge and mandible brownish white; tarsus, toes, and claws neutral
gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Canal Zone, Panama, San Blas,
and Darién), wing 59.9-63.2 (61.4), tail 53.3-57.3 (55.5), culmen
from base 16.7-19.7 (17.9), tarsus 21.5-23.1 (22.4) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Panama, San Blas, and Darién),
wing 57.0-63.0 (59.3), tail 54.0-58.6 (55.3), culmen from base
17.1-18.7 (17.8), tarsus 22.5-23.3 (23.0) mm.
Resident. Common in tropical lowland forests from eastern
Chiriqui (San Félix), on the Pacific slope, and the Rio Indio near
the eastern border of western Colon, and northeastern Coclé on the
190 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Caribbean side, east to the Colombian boundary in Darién and San
Blas ; in the mountains to 550 meters on the upper Rio Tacarcuna and
575 meters at Cana, on Cerro Pirre.
Beyond, in Colombia, this form ranges in Chocd (Acandi, Unguia)
to the lower Atrato Valley and southwest of the western Andes to
Punto Muchimbo, Valle, and western Narifio (Barbacoas).
In heavy forest in Darién it is found in the undergrowth. It is
adaptable as where there are abandoned clearings it may be found in
rastrojo.
The food is insects. Several stomachs that I have examined held
orthopteran remains, the egg case of a roach, the head and mouth-
parts of a moth, bits of caterpillar skin, fragments of ants, a snout
beetle, cerambycids, and other beetles, and remains of spiders.
The entire population assigned to rufiventris is merely a transition
from the dark northern crepera to typical Cercomacra tyrannina
tyrannina, found through most of Colombia, southern Venezuela and
northwestern Brazil, with its type locality in the Bogota area. In fact,
occasional specimens in the area assigned to rufiventris are as pale as
the average of tyrannina. Most, however, are slightly darker.
The type of the race was collected by McLeannan and Galbraith.
On Barro Colorado Island, Skutch found a nest on April 29, 1935.
CERCOMACRA NIGRICANS Sclater: Jet Ant-bird, Hormiguerito
Azabache
Cercomacra nigricans P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 26, November
9, 1858, p. 245. (Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. )
Rather small; male black with wing coverts and tail tipped with
white; female slate to blackish slate, under surface lined narrowly
with white.
Description—Length 145-160 mm. Adult male, deep black;
upper lesser wing coverts wholly white; tail tipped with white; alula
and outer primary with outer web edged with white; under wing
coverts black, edged broadly or barred posteriorly with white; a
broad patch of white in center of back, concealed by black tips of the
feathers.
Adult female, blackish slate to slate; under surface from side of
head and throat to abdomen lined and sometimes barred with white,
the amount variable, in some extensive; wing, including under
surface, tail and concealed back patch white as in male, but with
the concealed marking less extensive.
Immature male, like female.
Juvenile (a male from Department of Magdalena, Colombia), dull
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE IQI
slaty brown; tail tipped narrowly with white; wing coverts plain,
without white.
A male, collected at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 14, 1961,
had the iris dull reddish brown; bill black; tarsus and toes neutral
gray; claws dark neutral gray. In another from El Llano, Panama,
February 5, 1961, the iris was wood brown; bill black; tarsus and
toes bluish gray ; claws black.
A female, at El Llano, February 4, had the iris light brown ; maxilla
black; mandible light neutral gray; tarsus and toes neutral gray ;
claws dusky neutral gray. In another, in the collection of R. S.
Crossin, taken at Gamboa, Canal Zone, August 8, 1968, the iris was
recorded as dark brown; maxilla slate; mandible pale gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 65.7-69.9 (66.8),
tail 62.6-69.4 (65.6), culmen from base 18.4—20.0 (19.2), tarsus
23.4-24.8 (24.2) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 59.3-63.2 (61.3), tail 57.0-63.0
(59.6), culmen from base 18.0-18.6 (18.2), tarsus 22.0-23.6
(22.8) mm.
Weight, ¢ 18 grams: 2 13 grams (G. V. N. Powell).
Common in lowland forest on the Pacific side from western
Veraguas (west of Zapotillo, near the Rio Bubi), east commonly
to the lower Rio Bayano (FE1 Llano), including the Azuero Peninsula
(to Punta Mala), less commonly to the lower levels of Cerro Pirre
(Cana), Darién; on the Caribbean slope from western Coldn (Rio
Indio) east through the Canal Zone (locally) to western San Blas
(Mandinga) ; islas del Rey, Viveros, and Cafias, Archipiélago de las
Perlas.
These are forest birds, often with restricted and irregular range,
probably due in part to extensive clearing, but also elsewhere for
reasons that are not clear. In 1953 I found them in small number
in western Veraguas west of Zapotillo on a small stream tributary
to the lower Rio Bubi, and also on the Rio San Pablo, below Sona,
though Arcé many years earlier did not secure specimens for Sclater
and Salvin in this area. In 1948 I found it near Parita (at El Bar-
rero) and at Punta Mala, and in 1957 at Los Asientos, the latter
two localities in Los Santos. It has not been reported on the western
side of the Azuero Peninsula. It has been recorded regularly in the
Canal Zone, more commonly in the lower Chagres Valley (but not
on Barro Colorado Island). Farther east we found it near Pacora
and Chepo, and it is known from El Llano on the lower Bayano. In
Darién, Bond and de Schauensee (Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
Mon. 6, 1944, p. 33) recorded it at Garachiné, and Griscom (Bull.
IQ2 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 168) received three males from
Cana on Cerro Pirre, taken by Benson in 1928. I have not found
it in work in the Tuira-Chucunaque Valley. On the Caribbean side
it was fairly common near Mandinga, western San Blas, in January
and February 1957. In the Archipiélago de las Perlas it is common
on Isla del Rey and adjacent Isla Cafias. Bovallius collected male and
female on Isla Viveros in April 1882 (Rendahl, Ark. Zool., 1920,
p. 42).
This interesting ant-bird normally lives in the forest undergrowth,
though it may range higher in the trees, possibly when drupes are
ripening. The usual food is comprised of small insects—heetles, bugs,
and ants, also spiders, but vegetable matter may be found in the
stomach.
The presence of this ant-bird may be announced by a wrenlike call
ker check, ker check, or modified to a rapidly repeated chee ka,
chee ka, chee kd. As they move about, male and female in company,
the long tail with its white tip is vibrated regularly. Males may
display by spreading the depressed tail and moving it slowly. Where
common, they often show definite curiosity regarding a human
intruder, and usually decoy easily.
Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 526) quote
T. K. Salmon’s description of a nest found near Remedios, Antioquia
(northwestern Colombia) as made of dry grasses and placed in a
fork in low bushes. The two eggs, now in the British Museum
(Natural History) and described rather uncritically by the authors
as ““mahogany-colour,’’ I found on personal examination to have a
pinkish ground color, so heavily overlaid with smeared blotches, spots,
and lines of reddish brown to lilac-gray as to be almost obscured. In
form they were elliptical, with the measurements 21.4 15.2 and
21.5 x 14.9 mm.
The species is widely distributed from Colombia and northern
Venezuela to western Ecuador and northern Brazil, a broad area but
one in which the bird remains remarkably uniform. It is especially
interesting that the population of the Perlas Islands appears identical
with that of the mainland.
GYMNOCICHLA NUDICEPS (Cassin): Bare-crowned Ant-bird,
Hormiguero Frentipelado
Ficure 17
Size medium, with stout body and short tail; male black, forepart
of head without feathers, the skin bright blue ; female olive-brown to
russet-brown.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 193
Description —Length 145-160 mm. Adult male, with forehead and
side of head bare, in many the entire crown with only scattered hair-
like filaments and feather shafts without webs, the skin bright blue;
a concealed area of white in center of back in some, reduced or absent
in others; entire plumage black; wing coverts and tail tipped with
white, the latter marking often reduced or absent through wear;
Ficure 17.—Bare-crowned ant-bird, hormiguero frentipelado, Gymmnocichla
nudiceps, male left, female right.
alula and outermost primary white; inner wing coverts partly white;
under surface of primaries and secondaries edged with white.
Adult female, forehead feathered (in definite contrast to the male),
only the lores and area around eye bare; upper surface and flanks
from olive-brown to light or dark russet-brown (according to the sub-
species) ; concealed white on back present or absent, as in males;
outer webs of primaries and secondaries, and tips of wing coverts,
brighter brown; tail blackish brown; under surface, including under
wing coverts lighter, brighter brown; inner margins of primaries
and secondaries on under surface, buffy white to cinnamon-buff.
Immature male, forehead more or less feathered, with only the
194 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
lores and space around eye bare as in female; greater wing coverts
slaty-brown without white tips; otherwise like adult male.
As a species, this bird is found in lowland forests from southern
British Honduras through the Caribbean slope of Guatemala, Hon-
duras, and Nicaragua. In Costa Rica it ranges also on the Pacific
slope and continues in Panama into Colombia through Choco (to
Punto Muchimbo, Valle, on the Rio San Juan) and the Sint Valley
to the middle Magdalena, including the Santa Marta lowlands.
Four geographic races currently are recognized, based on the depth
of color in the female, G. n. santamartae of Colombia being the
palest member of the series. Three of the forms are found in
Panama.
GYMNOCICHLA NUDICEPS ERRATILIS Bangs
Gymnocichla nudiceps erratilis Bangs, Auk, vol. 24, no. 3, July 1907, p. 297.
(Boruca, Rio Térraba Valley, Pacific slope, Costa Rica. )
Characters—Male, with white tipping on the wing coverts narrow ;
female brighter, more cinnamon-brown above, with brown brighter,
lower surface generally similar to the following race (chtroleuca) ;
concealed white on back reduced or absent.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Veraguas), wing
74.5-79.2 (76.4), tail 54.0-60.5 (57.8), culmen from base 20.5-23.1
(21.8), tarsus 29.4-32.2 (30.7) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 72.2-75.1
(73.4), tail 54.3-59.8 (57.7), culmen from base 21.0-22.6 (21.7),
tarsus 29.2-30.8 (30.1) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in the lowlands of Chiriqui, east to the valley
of the Rio San Félix.
The earliest record is by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870,
p. 195) who received two males and two females taken by Arcé in
1869 at Bugaba and Mina de Chorcha. I have seen these in the
British Museum, and also another Arcé specimen dated 1870,
marked only as from the southern slope of the volcano. Sclater
(Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15, 1890, p. 189) in error listed this as
“specimen g” under Thamnophilus immaculatus. Bangs (Auk, 1901,
p. 366) lists seven males in the collection made by W. W. Brown,
Jr., at Divala from October to December 1900. Two of these are now
in the National Museum. Two females in the California Academy of
Sciences were taken in Chiriqui by Mrs. M. E. Davidson at Con-
cepcion on December 10,1929, and near San Félix on December 3,
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 195
1931. Two females in the American Museum of Natural History
were collected at Remedios, Chiriqui, by Ludlow Griscom on March
24 and 25, 1924. The only specimen record for Veraguas is a male
in the British Museum that Sclater received from Arcé. Until a
female is available the race of that area must remain indefinite.
There are no recent reports, and it is probable that the bird now
is very rare in Panama. In Costa Rica, Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 217) reported it from the southwest in “‘the
general Térraba-Golfo Dulce sector, from the lowlands to the
lower limits of the subtropical belt.”
GYMNOCICHLA NUDICEPS CHIROLEUCA Sclater and Salvin
Gymnocichla chiroleuca Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, October
1869, p. 417. (Tucurrique, upper Rio Reventazon Valley, Caribbean slope,
Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Slightly larger ; male with the white tips on the wing
coverts broader ; female olive-brown on back, wings and tail, with the
crown darker ; concealed white on back reduced in extent or absent.
Measurements.——Males (6 from Bocas del Toro, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica), wing 77.0-80.5 (79.4), tail 58.0-60.2
(58.6, average of 5), culmen from base 21.6-23.7 (22.6), tarsus 30.7—
32-2 (ol-5) mm:
Females (5 from Bocas del Toro, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica),
wing 76.8-77.4 (77.0), tail 59.8-63.0 (61.2), cwalmen from base
21.3-23.1 (22.1), tarsus 30.5-32.4 (31.6) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in western Bocas del Toro, where recorded
in the region around Almirante.
On February 5, 1958, I collected an adult male in heavy under-
growth on the Rio Occidente. Others were taken in mist nets near
Almirante by assistants of Dr. Pedro Galindo, two by R. Hinds, a
female December 16, 1960, and a male February 8, 1961, and a
female, by A. Quifiones, October 26, 1962.
GYMNOCICHLA NUDICEPS NUDICEPS (Cassin)
Myiothera nudiceps Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 5, 1850, p.
106, pl. 6. (Near Panama City, Province of Panama.)
Myrmeciza ferruginea Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862,
p. 470. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama. )
Myrmelastes corvinus Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 5, no. 2, April 1863, p. 182.
(“Panama” = Lion Hill, Panama Railway.)
Myrmelastes lawrencit Salvin and Godman, Biol Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2,
196 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
March 1892, p. 226. (New name for Myrmelastes corvinus Lawrence 1863.)
Myrmelastes ceterus Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 2, September
20, 1900, p. 25. (Loma de Leon, Canal Zone, Panama. )
Characters.——Male resembles that of G. n. erratilis; female, duller,
more grayish brown above, including the crown; lighter, more
cinnamon-brown on lower surface.
A male collected at Canita, Panama, on the lower Rio Bayano,
had the iris dark reddish brown; bare skin of head bright blue, paler
on the frontal area; bill black; tarsus and toes neutral gray; claws
dark neutral gray. In this bird the periosteum overlying the anterior
frontal area of the skull, underneath the bare blue skin of the fore-
head, was deep black.
Measurements.——Males (10 from central and eastern Panama),
wing 73.3-78.6 (75.6), tail 54.6-59.2 (56.7), culmen from base 21.0-
22.5 (21.2), tarsus 29.3-30.7 (30.1) mm.
Females (10 from central and eastern Panama), wing 69.0-74.9
(71.7), tail 52.6-57.0 (53.6), culmen from base 20.2-21.4 (20.9),
tarsus 29.2-30.9 (29.9) mm.
Resident. Found locally in lowland forests on the Pacific slope
from the northern Canal Zone and Panama City east to eastern
Darién ; on the Caribbean side from the Rio Indio in northern Coclé
(El Uracillo) east through the Canal Zone to Mandinga, western
San Blas.
To date, there has been no report of this bird on the Pacific side
west of the Canal Zone. To the east it is known from Pacora, and
from Cafiita on the lower Rio Bayano above El Llano. From Darién
there is a specimen in the Academy of Natural Sciences taken at
Garachiné (Bond and de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
Mon. 6, 1944, p. 33). Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69,
1929, p. 168) recorded a female taken by Benson at Cana on Cerro
Pirre. I secured a male March 23, 1959, on the Rio Chucunaque
near the mouth of Quebrada San Félix. Specimens in the American
Museum of Natural History come from El Real, Boca de Cupe, and
Sucubti on the upper Rid Chucunaque, the latter collected by J. L.
Baer.
On the Caribbean side, we took a pair on the upper Rio Indio at El
Uracillo, northern Coclé ; there were numerous early records from the
Canal Zone, near the Rio Chagres at Tabernilla, Lion Hill, and
Gatun; Goldman secured one at Portobelo, Colon, and I found it at
Mandinga, western San Blas. The species seems to be one that has
become less common in recent years.
In the stomach of the one taken by E. A. Goldman on May 30,
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 197
1911, I identified remains of more than 25 ants of three species, bits
of a locustid, and part of an earwig.
The nest and eggs appear to be unknown.
In early records male and female were regarded as separate species,
and there was confusion early also over the name. Lawrence (Ann.
Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1862, p. 293), who received a female
from McLeannan, was uncertain as to its identity and listed it first
with a query as Pithys rufigularis Boddaert. When he sent the speci-
men to Sclater in London for check, the latter replied that it was
unknown to him, and considered it to be a species of Myrmeciza.
Lawrence then (idem, p. 470) described it as new under the name
Myrmeciza ferruginea. Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1864, pp. 356-357) on further study, referred it properly to the
female of Gymnocichla nudiceps, named by Cassin in 1850.
In the meanwhile, in the Ibis for 1863, Lawrence had named a male
specimen forwarded by McLeannan Myrmelastes corvinus. Salvin
and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 226) in
their study of the family decided that a bird described in 1855 by
Gould as Thamnophilus corvinus was properly a species of the genus
Myrmelastes. As this then antedated Lawrence’s name, they re-
placed the latter by Myrmelastes lawrencii. When Bangs received a
male collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., at Lion Hill in what is now the
Canal Zone, he regarded M. lawrencit as applying to the bird of
Nicaragua and Chiriqui, overlooking the fact that Lawrence’s original
specimen came also from the region of Lion Hill. Bangs then
named the Lion Hill bird Myrmelastes ceterus.
The oldest name as noted above is Myiothera nudiceps proposed
by Cassin, who in the description wrote ‘‘Hab.—Panama ; discovered
by Mr. John G. Bell.’ Cassin cites Bell’s observations which end
as follows: “These birds kept on the ground, running and scratching
among the leaves . . . It was represented to me as a very rare bird
by several residents at Panama.” It seems appropriate from this to
cite the type locality as near Panama City.
MYRMECIZA LONGIPES PANAMENSIS Ridgway: White-bellied
Ant-bird, Hormiguero Pechiblanco
Myrmeciza boucardi panamensis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 21,
October 20, 1908, p. 194. (Line of Panama Railway, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Of medium size; terrestrial, usually located through its steadily
repeated call; brown above, male with throat and breast black; fe-
male with these areas cinnamon-brown.
Description.—Length 135-150 mm. Adult male, crown, hindneck,
198 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and loral area slate-gray, with a wash of chestnut-brown, in some
extensive, in others reduced; rest of upper surface, including wings
and tail cinnamon-rufous; edgings of primaries slightly paler;
anterior margin of lesser wing coverts white or pale buff; wing
coverts in some tipped indistinctly with cinnamon, occasionally with
faint indication of a subterminal bar of dusky; side of head, throat,
foreneck, and upper breast black, passing to gray on upper breast
and sides, with median area and abdomen white; lower sides and
flanks tawny to clay color; under tail coverts tawny; under wing
coverts white or buffy white; inner edges of primaries pale cinnamon-
buff.
Adult female; crown slightly paler gray, with brown wash on
pileum and hindneck duller; upper surface cinnamon-rufous, with
more extensive black on anterior lesser wing coverts, and all of the
wing coverts with indefinite to clearly marked subterminal bars of
black ; wings and tail otherwise as in male; sides of head dark brown
or dusky, usually with narrow shaft lines of white or buff; chin
white; malar region and throat ochraceous-buff, becoming slightly
darker on foreneck and upper breast; sides and flanks ochraceous-
buff; lower breast and abdomen white; under tail coverts tawny-
ochraceous ; under wing markings as in male.
Immature male, like female, but without dark markings on wings,
changing early to the adult stage through growth of black and gray
feathers on anterior lower surface.
A male, taken at La Jagua, Panama, January 13, 1962, had the iris
reddish brown: bill black; tarsus and toes flesh color ; claws brownish
neutral gray.
A female collected at El Llano, February 5, 1962, was similar in
color of iris; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of mandible
pale neutral gray; tarsus and toes very pale brownish white; claws
neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Province of Panama and Canal
Zone), wing 66.4-69.5 (67.7), tail 47.2-53.5 (50.8), culmen from
base 19.7-21.6 (20.8), tarsus 30.0-31.7 (30.8) mm.
Females (10 from Province of Panama and Canal Zone), wing
63.4-66.1 (64.7), tail 46.9-51.0 (48.9), culmen from base 19.0-21.6
(20.2), tarsus 28.9-30.7 (29.6) mm.
R. S. Crossin recorded the weight of a male taken near Gamboa,
Canal Zone, as 28 grams.
Resident. Locally common in central Panama, where it is recorded
from El] Valle, Coclé and the south base of Cerro Campana east
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 199
through the southern Canal Zone to the lower Rio Bayano on the
Pacific slope, and near the Rio Chagres (Juan Mina, Barro Colorado
Island) on the Caribbean side.
Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 229)
cite it from farther west, as “Veraguas (Arcé),” and Sclater (Cat.
Birds Brit. Mus., vol. XV, 1890, p. 279) lists male and female from
the old Salvin-Goldman collection from ‘“‘Veragua (Arcé).” These are
questionable records, that may be based on specimens taken by Arcé
near Chepo as the species has no other report to the west of El
Valle, Coclé, cited above. In 1951 I found them in dry forest on
the Rio Camarén near La Campana at the southern base of Cerro
Campana, and on March 29, secured one at the edge of a clearing at
760 meters on Cerro La India Dormida at El Valle, Cocleé.
These birds range in pairs in thickets and open forests, always
on or near the ground, where in general appearance and action they
suggest wrens. Though they may be detected by their active move-
ments, usually attention is drawn to them through their calls. The
song is a loud burst, that increases in rapidity as its syllables are
repeated, and then terminates abruptly. It bears so strong a re-
semblance to that of the Buff-rumped Warbler, also a terrestrial
species, that it may be confused with that bird. When seen clearly
the unusual length of the leg for so small a bird may attract attention.
As they walk quickly with steadily twitching tail occasionally they
pause to turn over a fallen leaf. Their food is insects. In a well-
filled stomach from a bird taken by Goldman at the old Lion Hill
locality, I found a pentatomid bug, remains of earwigs, and seven ants
of two species. Ants appear to be a regular source of food.
The only available information on nesting is from the closely allied
Myrmeciza longipes longipes on Trinidad. A set of two eggs that I
have examined in the British Museum (Natural History) collected
by Sir Charles Belcher, April 10, 1935, have the form subelliptical.
In color, they are faintly buffy white, blotched and spotted with
cinnamon to lilac-gray, mainly about the larger end. They measure
23.1 x 16.6 and 23.2 17.2 mm. Another set of two from the same
locality, taken March 8, 1936, are similar in form, slightly more
heavily spotted, and measure 23.3X17.9 and 22.2X17.3 mm. The
collector’s notes describe the nests as an “open, shallow saucer of
pliable twigs and rootlets, lined with black hairlike fibers like horse
hair in appearance.’ They were located from 1.2 to 1.8 meters from
the ground, one in the crown of a fern, the other in an aroid.
Though the race panamensis is not recorded in eastern Panama in
200 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Darién and San Blas, in our series from Colombia I find specimens
exactly similar to those of Panama from the lower Magdalena Valley
in the Department of Bolivar (Santa Rosa, Rio Viejo, Norosi,
Colos6, Covefias), adjacent Cordoba (Pueblo Nuevo), and Mag-
dalena (La Gloria, Ayacucho, and along the Rio César).
MYRMECIZA EXSUL Sclater: Chestnut-backed Ant-bird,
Hormiguero Lomo Castafio
Size medium, with heavy body and short tail ; like a wren in action;
head black to slate color, body brown.
Description.—Length 130-150 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck black to slate-black; rest of upper surface, including wings,
chestnut ; tail faintly duller; wing coverts plain, or spotted more or
less with white, the anterior lesser series margined with white;
anterior under surface black to blackish slate or slate; flanks and
under tail coverts, and in some the lower abdomen, chestnut to duller
brown; under wing coverts mixed white and black.
Adult female, upper surface as in male, but colors of crown and
hindneck duller; side of head, chin, and throat slate to slate-black ;
rest of under surface plain brown; under wing coverts as in male.
Juvenile male, like adult, but colors duller, the brown area mixed
more or less with sooty brown to sooty black.
This is one of the common ant-birds of the Tropical Zone forests,
where it ranges from the lowlands to elevations of 600 to 700 meters.
The birds normally are found in pairs that move on or near the
ground in the undergrowth of the forest floor, seldom ascending
more than a meter or so among the branches. They are common
in swampy woodlands, or along small quebradas, and are found also
in drier areas. Though their proper haunt is in forested land they are
able to adapt to life in rastrojo where the larger growth has developed
fair-sized trees. Often they are found in such deeply shaded areas
that they are detected only in movement, since at rest their dark
colors render them invisible. As they travel, they examine tangles
of leaves that may conceal insects, walking when on the ground,
hopping rather slowly through the branches above.
Males call at short intervals—a clear, double-noted whistle, that
often is repeated by the female in slightly different tone. The note
is easily imitated, when the birds are attracted and come near. At
such times they may become disturbed and utter chattering calls.
Then as they approach, whistling and scolding, the feathers of the
rump and lower back are raised, and the tail is vibrated. Occasionally
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 201
one will compress the feathers at the sides, so that the white wing
edging shows as a prominent line. The bright blue of the small
amount of bare skin of the sides of the face then shows prominently
in both male and female. Other notes include a low chatter, and a
purring call, heard only when they are near at hand.
They are casual rather than persistent attendants on ant swarms,
and also sometimes join briefly little groups of other low bush feeders,
as the song wrens. In fact this ant-bird, in its general form, with its
heavy body, short tail, and rather long bill, coupled with its secretive
habits, may suggest superficial resemblance to the larger wrens.
The species ranges from the Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua
and on both slopes of Costa Rica south to western Ecuador and
northern Colombia. It is a common bird with some diversity in color
throughout the Isthmus where four subspecies may be recognized.
In Panama I have not recorded them in the savanna areas of the
Pacific slope, nor in the lowlands of the eastern side of the Azuero
Peninsula.
MYRMECIZA EXSUL OCCIDENTALIS Cherrie
Myrmeciza immaculata occidentalis Cherrie, Auk. vol. 8, no. 2, April 1891, p.
191. (Pozo Azul de Pirris, Pacific slope, Province of San José, Costa Rica.)
Characters—Similar to M. e. exsul, but paler. Male, with head
and hindneck slate-black; rest of upper surface chestnut-brown ;
ventral surface slate-gray with foreneck averaging grayer ; flanks and
under tail coverts lighter brown.
Female, slightly darker brown above than the female of exsul;
brigher brown on ventral surface.
Measurements.—Males (13 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Vera-
guas), wing 63.5-69.2 (67.2), tail 44.0-48.8 (46.7), culmen from
base 21.4-23.6 (22.3), tarsus 27.7-28.9 (28.4) mm.
Females (17 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Veraguas), wing
62.6-68.0 (64.7), tail 41.2-46.9 (44.6), culmen from base 20.3-22.5
(21.4), tarsus 27.0-29.5 (28.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally on the Pacific slope of Chiriqui and
Veraguas, east to the western side of the Azuero Peninsula, from
sea level to 600 meters elevation.
The race ranges north beyond Chiriqui on the Pacific slope of
southwestern Costa Rica to the Gulf of Nicoya.
Fortunately these birds are able to live in the small areas of
suitable habitat that remain on steep slopes, in forested ravines, or
along the banks of streams, since now these are the main, or only
202 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
shelters remaining across wide lowland areas in Chiriqui and Veraguas
that formerly were heavily forested.
Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 616), described a
nest found May 10, 1902, at Pozo Azul de Pirris in Costa Rica, as
built of twigs and roots, lined with finer black roots, placed near the
ground in forest. The two eggs, whitish with ‘“‘nearly the whole
surface obscured with specks, blotches, and scrawls of purplish
chestnut” measured 23 x 17 and 24x 17 mm.
In studies in southwestern Costa Rica, Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif.,
no. 35, 1969, pp. 237-244) noted that these birds lived in dark under-
growth in heavy forest, rarely rising more than 3 meters above
the ground. They are found mainly in pairs that forage by hopping
rapidly, or where cover is dense, by flitting from one low perch to an-
other. They may forage over ant swarms, in company with other
small birds, but more usually range alone in search of the insects that
with an occasional small lizard form their food. Their nests, placed
only a few centimeters above the ground, have a loose foundation of
bits of fern and dead leaves that supports an open cup lined with finer
materials. Two nests seen held only one egg, two others had two eggs
each. These were dull white “heavily blotched, speckled, and
streaked with deep, rich purplish or rufous brown . . . heaviest on
the thick end, where they almost obscure the ground color.” Four
had the following measurements: 23.0 x 16.7, 23.8 x 16.7, 23.8 x 17.1,
and 24.6 15.1 mm. The male aided in incubation, with the female
alone at night. Both fed the young, which on hatching have dark
skins without down. “In antagonistic display, males spread their
wings, revealing on their forward edges white patches . . . females
puff out the feathers on the back.” They also use a distraction display
against enemies.
MYRMECIZA EXSUL EXSUL Sclater
Myrmeciza exsul P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 26, 1858 (January-
May 1859), p. 540. (Panama, type locality restricted to near Gatun, Canal
Zone. )
Myrmeciza immaculata Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864
(February 1865), p. 357. (Lion Hill, Panama. )
Characters.—Male, head and hindneck black ; rest of upper surface
chestnut ; foreneck nearly black; rest of lower surface blackish gray,
with the flanks and under tail coverts near Mars brown.
Female, dull brown on lower surface, posterior to the foreneck.
A male, taken February 27, 1962, near the head of Rio Guabal on
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 203
the Caribbean slope of northern Coclé, had the iris light brown;
skin around eye, lores, forehead, and throat (partly concealed by
feathers) bright blue; bill black ; tarsus, toes, and claws dusky neutral
gray. In a female from Gamboa, Canal Zone, January 13, 1960,
the iris was chestnut-brown; skin around the eye light leaden blue;
bill black; tarsus plumbeous; toes and claws dull neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (15 from Bocas del Toro to eastern
Colon), wing 62.6-67.3 (65.4), tail 43.3-48.2 (45.6), culmen from
base 20.4—22.7 (21.4), tarsus 27.7-29.5 (28.4) mm.
Females (15 from northern Coclé to eastern Colon), wing 62.5-
66.7 (64.1), tail 41.0-46.7 (43.5), culmen from base 20.0-21.6 (20.7),
tarsus 27.5—29.3 (28.3) mm.
Resident. Fairly common on the Caribbean slope from Bocas del
Toro eastward through northern Veraguas, northern Coclé, western
Colon, northern Canal Zone, the lower and middle Chagres Valley,
Panama, and eastern Colén (Portobelo, Cerro Bruja), intergrading
with M. e. niglarus in the upper Chagres Valley.
To the north this race ranges in the Caribbean lowland forests
through Costa Rica to Nicaragua. The extensive swampy woodlands,
in the area where this subspecies often is found, seldom are suitable
for cultivation so that the bird here may be less subject to the pres-
sures of shrinking habitat than in other parts of its range.
In the original description of this race P. L. Sclater indicated that
he named it from birds that came from Nicaragua and Panama.
Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., Part 3, 1924, p. 262), who examined
the actual type specimen, collected by Delattre, in the Liverpool
Museum, found that it came from Panama. The route of Delattre in
Panama does not appear to be recorded, but since he collected in
Nicaragua, and later in Pert it would appear that he crossed the
Isthmus in his journey between Central America and northwestern
South America. Near Gatun, therefore, in the Chagres Valley near
the north coast, is a possible source for this type so that this has
been designated as a restricted type locality. The life history, mainly
of this race as found on Barro Colorado Island, has been described in
detail by Willis and Oniki (Condor, 1972, pp. 87-98).
Descriptions of the nest state that it is placed a short distance
off the ground. Goldman’s notes record one near Portobelo, Colon,
May 27, 1911, fastened rather insecurely to the upright stems of vines
and bushes, hidden by overhanging leaves, at an elevation of about
40 centimeters above the ground. It was built of leaves, leaf fibers,
and slender vines, with leaves placed vertically over the sides and
204. BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
bottom of the open cup as support for the lining of long, slender fibers.
This nest measured as follows: outside height and diameter 125 mm,
diameter and depth of cup 70 mm. The two eggs, slightly incubated,
are between oval and subelliptical in form. The ground color is light
pinkish white, almost obscured by an overlying wash of tiny dots
and indefinite lines, with larger markings of dull rufous and rufous-
chocolate that cover the entire surface. The lines and markings in
general are longitudinal. Measurements are 24.0 18.0 and 24.5x
18.1 mm.
A. O. Gross found nests with eggs on Barro Colorado Island,
July 25 and August 5, 1925, and July 13, 1927. The first mentioned
(Gross, Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. for 1926, 1927, p. 338, pl. 8),
slightly elevated among the leaves of a low plant, was “made of coarse
stems and roots and contained 2 eggs.’ Carriker (Ann. Carnegie
Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 616) records a nest found at Guapiles, Costa
Rica, July 13, 1905, with two fresh eggs as follows: “The nest was
made of leaves, weed-stalks, and roots, lined with fine brown weed-
fiber, and placed in a cluster of ferns in the thick jungle, about a foot
[30 cm.] above the earth. The eggs are whitish, but suffused over
nearly the whole surface with reddish-purple, and speckled, scrawled,
and blotched with deep purplish-chestnut and lilac, gathered about the
large end in the form of a cap. Measurements: 2217.5 and 22.5 x
17 mm.”
Goldman and Gross both found females on the nest, and recorded
that when flushed they moved along the ground, feigning injury, to
attract attention. Willis and Oniki record incubation and feeding the
young by both parents. The nesting period on Barro Colorado
Island, from April to November, is in the rainy season.
Stomachs of those that I have examined were filled mainly with
remains of small insects that included ants, an elaterid, a carabid, a
curculionid, a cerambycid, a chrysomalid, other beetles, egg case of
a roach, an acridid, a locustid, parts of a heteropteran; remains of a
caterpillar, and bits of earwigs. Added to these items one held a
2-inch-long centipede, others bits of spiders. In one I found two
elongated seeds.
In early years there was confusion as to the identity of this bird.
As noted in the synonymy above, Sclater and Salvin in 1865 gave
this typical race the name immaculata based on specimens received
from McLeannan, which is antedated by Sclater’s own name exsul of
1859. The two species are illustrated under the correct names
in Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 4, plate 51),
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 205
but in figures 2 and 3 from specimens of Myrmeciza tmmaculata that
apparently were not fully adult.
MYRMECIZA EXSUL NIGLARUS Wetmore
Myrmeciza exsul niglarus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 145, no. 1,
June 26, 1962, p. 7. (Rio Chiman, about 10 kilometers above Chiman, Province
of Panama, Panama. )
Characters.—Male, crown and hindneck black, like exsul, but rest
of dorsal surface lighter brown, in shade between exsul and occi-
dentalis; below definitely paler than exsul; very faintly darker than
occidentalis.
Female, generally similar to that of exsul, but averaging lighter
and brighter on lower surface posterior to the foreneck; breast
brighter brown; definitely darker than occidentalis.
A male, taken March 1, 1961, on the Quebrada Candelaria, Panama,
had the iris dark brown; bare skin on side of head from lores to
above the auditory region clear blue; bill black; tarsus and toes
fuscous-black.
In a female from Cafiita, Panama, February 6, 1962, the iris was
dull reddish brown; bare skin on side of head light blue; bill black;
tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray.
Measurements ——Males (15 from eastern Province of Panama and
San Blas), wing 65.0-70.1 (67.1), tail 42.5-49.7 (45.7), culmen from
base 20.2-22.3 (21.4), tarsus 27.5-29.7 (28.4) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama and San Blas),
wing 62.7-67.0 (64.2), tail 40.2-47.6 (43.3), culmen from base
19.9-22.2 (20.8), tarsus 26.4—29.6 (28.1) mm.
Resident. Eastern Panama; Pacific slope from western end of
Cerro Azul east through the Province of Panama to eastern Darién;
on the Caribbean slope from the upper Chagres Valley, above Madden
Lake (Quebrada Candelaria on the Rio Pequeni, Quebrada Peluca
on the Rio Boqueron) east through San Blas to the Colombian
boundary.
Specimens from Acandi on the coast of extreme northern Choco
in Colombia, about 20 kilometers beyond the boundary with Panama,
also belong to this race. This point marks its most eastern and
southern extension, as immediately beyond, the next race M. e.
cassini appears. Since niglarus is the race found at Chepo it is sup-
posed that this form ranges up the valley of the Rio Bayano, though
there are as yet no specimens from that area.
206 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
MYRMECIZA EXSUL CASSINI (Ridgway)
Myrmelastes cassini Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington. vol. 21, October
20, 1908, p. 194. (Turbo, Antioquia, Colombia. )
Characters ——Paler than other races; wing coverts always well
spotted with white. Male, compared to M. e. niglarus, with head
and hindneck grayer, rest of upper surface duller brown, and under
surface lighter gray. Female decidedly duller brown above, throat
grayer, breast brighter brown, and abdomen paler.
Measurements.—Males (21 from Darién), wing 63.0-69.4 (65.2),
tail 38.5-45.6 (41.2), culmen from base 19.5-22.3 (20.9), tarsus
26.4-28.7 (27.9) mm.
Females (10 from Darién, and Chocdé, Colombia), wing 62.3-
64.6 (63.5), tail 36.8-42.2 (40.4), culmen from base 18.9-20.8
(19.8), tarsus 26.7—28.5 (27.3) mm.
Resident. Pacific slope in Darién from the southern side of the
Golfo de San Miguel (Garachiné), and the lower Tuira Valley,
south along the Pacific Coast through the drainage of the Rio Tuira,
to the Colombian boundary ; intergrades with M. e. niglarus along the
middle Rio Chucunaque (near the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa).
I have found them fairly common through the forests of Darién,
usually in pairs, and have heard them calling regularly.
The range extends into Colombia across northern Choco (ex-
cept in the extreme north at Acandi), south along the Pacific Coast
to the Rio Jurado (probably farther), and in the Atrato Valley to
Quibdo, east across the valley of the Rio Sint, the middle Rio Cauca,
and the middle Rio Magdalena.
An ancient specimen received from Heyde and Lux in the National
Museum, described by Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5,
1911, p. 110) as an immature male of M. e. cassini is without ques-
tion of that race. The locality “Cascajal, Coclé” however, is certainly
erroneous, as that place is in the range of M. e. exsul. Hellmayr (Cat.
Birds. Amer., pt. 3, 1924, p. 263, footnote b) in discussing this lists
three males taken by Heyde and Lux at Cascajal as typical VW. e. exsul.
The National Museum bird probably was collected in western
Colombia.
MYRMECIZA LAEMOSTICTA LAEMOSTICTA Salvin: Salvin’s
Ant-bird, Hormiguero Pechinegro
Myrmeciza laemosticta Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864 (February 1865),
p. 582. (Tucurrique, Costa Rica.)
In size and actions like the Chestnut-backed Ant-bird, but back
with a concealed area of white; female with throat spotted with white.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 207
Description Length 125-150 mm. Adult male; crown, including
lores, slate to slate-black; hindneck usually grayer; upper back
brownish olive; lower back, rump, and upper tail coverts chestnut to
chestnut-brown ; feather bases in center of back clear white, bordered
by black, the area usually completely concealed ; anterior line of lesser
wing coverts pure white; others black, with tips white; greater
coverts spotted at the tip with rufous; chin, malar area, and foreneck
black; side of head, sides, breast, and upper abdomen slate to slate-
gray; upper breast spotted irregularly and indistinctly with black;
posterior sides, flanks, and under tail coverts Vandyke brown; under
wing coverts white barred with black.
Adult female, upper surface like male, but with crown somewhat
grayer : wings with rufous spots more abundant; concealed white on
back less in extent; throat black, heavily spotted with white.
A male, from Armila, San Blas, March 4, 1963, had the iris red;
maxilla and mandibular rami black; rest of mandible neutral gray ;
tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray.
A female from the Rio Tacarcuna, Darién, March 10, 1964, had
the iris bright red; maxilla black; mandible dusky neutral gray;
tarsus, toes, and claws rather dark neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Province of Panama, Colon,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 60.0-66.0 (63.5), tail 39.8-45.6 (42.7,
average of 9), culmen from base 18.8-21.0 (19.9), tarsus 26.0-27.0
(26.8) mm.
Females (10 from Veraguas, Province of Panama, and Darién),
wing 59.7-64.8 (62.7), tail 40.0-49.2 (43.7), culmen from base 18.3—
20.1 (19.1), tarsus 25.1-26.9 (26.2) mm.
Resident. Uncommon, in undergrowth in heavy forest. Recorded
in scattered localities on the Pacific slope from Veraguas to Darién;
on the Caribbean side from eastern Colon, Canal Zone, eastern San
Blas, and one record from Rio Calovévora in northern Veraguas.
This interesting species was described by Salvin from a specimen
taken in 1864 by Enrique Arcé at Tucurrique, on the Caribbean slope
of Costa Rica. Later Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 145)
recorded a female from Santa Fé, Veraguas, also collected by Arcé.
Benson secured others there at elevations of 500 to 760 meters from
March 2 to April 13, 1925. J. R. Karr found a pair on the Rio Men-
doza in the Navy Pipeline area in July 1969. Goldman collected a pair
on Cerro Azul, eastern Province of Panama, on March 23, 1911, and
a male on Cerro Bruja, eastern Colon, June 7 of the same year.
Thomas Barbour and W. S. Brooks found this ant-shrike fairly com-
mon on Cerro Sapo, Darién, in April 1922. Griscom (Bull. Mus.
208 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Comp. Zool., vol. 72, 1932, p. 345) received several taken by H.
von Wedel between 1929 and 1931 at Permé, Ranchon, and Puerto
Obaldia in eastern Comarca de San Blas. There is one record of a
female collected on the Rio Calovévora, Veraguas, by Benson and
Gaffney, September 6, 1926. Griscom’s inclusion of “Almirante”
in the occurrence of this bird in his final list of the birds of Panama
(Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935, p. 335) apparently was in
error as | have seen no record for Bocas del Toro. In my own
work we found them first near Jaqué, Darién, on March 31 and
April 4, 1946. On April 7, 1949, I secured one near Chepo, and
March 8, 1951, collected two males and a female at 850 meters on
Cerro Campana, in the Province of Panama. In the lower levels of
Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién, at the old village site at 575 meters on the
Rio Tacarcuna on March 10, 1964, we shot one, and captured
another in a mist net. From the higher elevation of 850 meters at
La Laguna, Dr. Pedro Galindo has given me a male taken July 7,
1963. At Armila in the lowlands of San Blas on March 4, 1963, I
collected one from a group of other small birds over a moving swarm
of ants.
In general skulking habits and movement they suggest the common
Chestnut-backed Ant-bird, Myrmeciza exsul, though I did not
identify any calls from them, sounds which usually attract attention
in the related bird. Those that I have examined in the flesh did not
have the skin beneath the feathers on the side of the head tinged blue
as is the case in the other species.
The only report of the eggs is cited with reservation as to its
authenticity by Meise (in Schonwetter, Handb. Ool., pt. 14, 1967,
pp. 41, 52) of specimens received from Guayaquil. These have been
attributed to the race Myrmeciza laemosticta nigricauda, a subspecies
found from southwestern Colombia south into western Ecuador,
marked by black tail, with the white spotting on the throat in the
female reduced in amount. The eggs mentioned are described by
Dr. Meise as heavily pigmented, with a rosy white ground color, and
reddish brown to dark purple lines and spots in varying amount. With
one there was a parasite egg attributed to the cuckoo Dromococcyx
pavoninus. The measurements listed as 21.5-24.4x 15.2-16.8 mm,
show greater variation in size than usual in this group, so that more
than one species may be involved.
Early studies of this species in Panama listed the few specimens
known under two subspecies, M. |. laemosticta for the Veraguas
specimen, and palliata, described by Todd from northern Colombia,
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 209
for all others. I find, however, that all are the nominate race
laemosticta. This is very slightly darker, and in the male the breast
and upper abdomen are marked rather heavily with dull black in the
form of large somewhat irregular spots. Myrmeciza laemosticta
palliata Todd, which we have in series from collections made in
Colombia by M. A. Carriker, Jr., is duller brown above, with the
crown gray, rather than black, and paler below, both in shade of
gray on the breast and abdomen, and in the brown of flanks and
under tail coverts. The male lacks the irregular black spots on the
breast found in M. J. laemosticta.
MYRMECIZA IMMACULATA (Lafresnaye): Immaculate Ant-bird,
Hormiguero Inmaculado
Thamnophilus immaculatus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., September 1845, p. 340.
(Bogota, Colombia. )
Medium size; male black; female dark brown with forepart of
head black.
Description —Length 170-190 mm. Adult male, black; anterior
lesser wing coverts, a line around bend of wing, and edging on alula
white, the extent of the white on the shoulder variable.
Adult female, side of head including lores and malar region, black ;
elsewhere plain dark brown, paler on under surface.
This is a little-known species found from Costa Rica and Panama
to Colombia, south to western Ecuador, and east to western Vene-
zuela. Four geographic races currently are recognized, of which two
are found in Panama.
MYRMECIZA IMMACULATA ZELEDONI Ridgway
Myrmeciza zeledoni Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 22, April 17,
1909, p. 74. (Guayabo, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Bill larger and stronger; female darker, more chest-
nut-brown.
Measurements —Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Veraguas, and
Costa Rica), wing 76.9-81.2 (79.4), tail 70.8-79.1 (74.2), culmen
from base 22.1—24.2 (22.8), tarsus 32.5-35.1 (33.7, average of 9) mm.
Females (10 from Veraguas and Costa Rica), wing 74.5-79.3
(76.4), tail 68.0-78.8 (73.3), culmen from base 21.3-23.5 (22.3),
tarsus 32.2-34.8 (33.8) mm.
Resident. Rare, in heavy forest, apparently in the upper Tropical
and lower Subtropical zones in Chiriqui, western Bocas del Toro, and
western Veraguas.
210 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 194) was the first to
report this race from Chiriqui and Veraguas from specimens col-
lected by Arcé. Those in the Salvin-Godman collection (Sclater, Cat.
Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15, 1890, p. 189) are from Calobre, Chitra, and
Calovévora, Veraguas. (The one listed under “g. Ad. sk. southern
slope of the Volcano of Chiriqui (Arcé)” is a specimen of Gymno-
cichla nudiceps erratilis.) In Bocas del Toro, W. W. Brown, Jr.,
secured a female June 12, 1901, at 600 meters on the trail between
Boquete and Chiriqui Grande. Another was taken by Monniche at
Camp Holcomb (1525 meters) June 26, 1933, on this same trail.
The U.S. National Museum has two males collected by R. Hinds at
730 meters on the head of the Rio Changuena, September 10 and 14,
1961.
In Costa Rica, Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
p. 219) recorded this bird as found in groups, the two sexes together,
moving rapidly through the undergrowth, often following ant
swarms. “The long, rounded tail . . . is constantly raised slowly
and lowered quickly.’’ The call is a “series of six to eight resonant,
musical, equal-valued, urgent or excited beeps. The bird also makes
a high-pitched chatter like that of exsul.”
Nothing is recorded of its nesting.
MYRMECIZA IMMACULATA BERLEPSCHI Ridgway
Myrmeciza berlepschi Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 22, April 17,
1909, p. 74. (Chimbo, northwest Ecuador.)
Characters.—Bill smaller; male with white area on wings more
extensive ; female, lighter, somewhat brighter brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién, Colombia, and Ecuador),
wing 80.0-83.4 (81.5), tail 67.3-76.6 (72.2), culmen from base 21.8-
24.8 (22.9), tarsus 33.8-37.2 (35.1) mm.
Females (10 from Darién and Chocé, Colombia), wing 76.5-81.4
(78.8), tail 66.7-81.4 (78.8), culmen from base 20.6-22.7 (19.4,
average of 9), tarsus 33.1-35.7 (34.1) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in the forests of Cerro Pirre and Cerro
Tacarcuna (to 575 meters), Darién.
This interesting bird, little known, was found first by E. A. Gold-
man, above Cana at 900 to 1060 meters elevation. Griscom (Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 168) records three males and a
female collected by Benson in this same area in 1928. It is found also
on the lower levels of Cerro Tacarcuna, where W. B. Richardson col-
lected it near the old village site at 1900 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna
in March and April 1915.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 2II
In the stomachs of four of those taken by Goldman I found re-
mains of ants, roaches, parts of beetles, a cicada nymph, a milliped,
bits of a scorpion, and spiders.
MYRMORNIS TORQUATA STICTOPTERA (Salvin): Wing-banded
Ant-bird, Pollito Hormiguero de Selva
Rhopoterpe stictoptera Salvin, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 1, March 1, 1893, p.
32. (Santo Domingo, Managua, Nicaragua. )
Medium size, heavy body; wings large, tail very short ; breast gray,
wings heavily banded with cinnamon.
Description—Length 140-155 mm. Rictal area and space behind
eye bare; feathers of crown, throat, and upper tail coverts very short,
on rest of body very long, especially on lower back.
Adult male, crown and hindneck chocolate-brown with very nar-
row shaft lines of rufous; an elongate black area in center of back,
with concealed white base; rest of back, scapulars, and rump centrally
grayish brown, edged broadly all around with chocolate-brown ; tail
dark grayish brown edged broadly with rufous-brown ; primaries and
wing coverts black, the coverts tipped and the outer webs of the pri-
maries edged with cinnamon-brown; secondaries grayish brown ex-
ternally, internally black; feathers on edge of eyelids black; side of
head and neck with short feathers black basally, tipped with grayish
white ; foreneck black; breast, abdomen, and sides dark gray; flank
feathers tipped with cinnamon; under tail coverts rufous; anterior
under wing coverts and a band across center of wing cinnamon.
Female like male, but throat and foreneck rufous-tawny.
Juvenile, crown and hindneck chocolate; back, rump, foreneck,
upper breast, and upper sides chocolate-brown, becoming paler grayish
brown posteriorly ; wing as in adult.
A male, taken on Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama,
March 9, 1950, had the iris dark brown; bare skin back of eye, and
on rictal area bright grayish blue; bill black; tarsus and toes fuscous.
Another male from the old Tacarcuna village site, Darién, collected
March 8, 1964, was similar in color of iris and bill, but had the bare
skin around and back of eye light blue; tarsus, toes, and claws dark
brownish neutral gray.
A female from Tacarcuna village, March 8, 1964, had the iris pale
brown, and tarsus, toes, and claws somewhat browner than in the
male, but otherwise was similar.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 88.7—93.6 (91.5), tail 33.0-39.2 (35.9),
culmen from base 23.5-27.2 (24.6), tarsus 24.2-25.8 (24.7) mm.
212 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 87.8-
93.2 (90.6), tail 34.2-37.4 (35.7), culmen from base 23.0-24.9
(24.0), tarsus 23.7-25.5 (24.4) mm.
Resident. Rare in northern Canal Zone (Pipeline Road, Gamboa) ;
rare and local in forested areas in foothill country in eastern Province
of Panama, Darién, and San Blas.
The first specimens from Panama were taken by E. A. Goldman
at an elevation of 1060 meters above Cana, on Cerro Pirre, May 30,
1912. Anthony and Richardson, from March to May 1915, collected
a series in Darién, at Cituro, Tapalisa, and the Tacarcuna village
site at the base of Cerro Tacarcuna. In the Canal Zone, J. R. Karr
and others have recorded them regularly (1969) above Gamboa.
The first published record for the Republic is that of Bangs and
Barbour (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 209) of eight
adults taken on Cerro Sapo, Jesucito, and on the Rio Esnape, Darién,
in April 1922. They noted that these birds from Darién were not
separable from those of Nicaragua. Soon after, Griscom (idem,
vol. 69, 1929, p. 169) listed a male collected in February 1928 by
Benson at Tigre on the Rio Cupe, and later (idem, vol. 72, p. 345)
reported a small series from Permé, Ranchon, and Puerto Obaldia,
San Blas.
On March 9, 1950, at 330 meters on the slopes of Cerro Chucanti
in eastern Province of Panama, the chattering calls of birds attracted
my attention. As I moved toward them, a male of this species ap-
peared on a low perch in the undergrowth, where it continued calling,
with flitting wings. The bird in life impressed me as generally simi-
lar to the Spotted Ant-bird, though much larger. James R. Karr has
noted that as they move on the forest floor they throw fallen leaves
about like a leaf-scraper (Sclerurus). At the old Tacarcuna village
site at 575 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna, B. Feinstein collected a
female on January 26, 1959, Dr. Pedro Galindo a male on June 25,
1963, and on March 8, 1964, I secured a pair there as they ranged
in undergrowth near the ground. Dr. Galindo collected others some-
what higher at La Laguna in June 1963.
Stomachs of those I have examined have held fragments of roaches,
beetles, caterpillars, and other insects, spiders, isopods, and millipedes.
In one there was a small ball of spider web and in another a seed.
The birds, found usually in pairs, are highly interesting but elusive,
and little is known of them. The present race, described from
Nicaragua, is as yet unknown in Costa Rica and western Panama.
It ranges beyond Darién and San Blas across northern Colombia.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 213
Like Bangs and Barbour, I have found the series now available from
Panama similar to those from far distant Nicaragua, the type
locality.
Typical M. t. torquata, of eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador to
southern Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil, has the wing bands
paler, with that on the underside of the wing white, and is duller,
less rufescent brown on the upper surface.
FORMICARIUS ANALIS (d’Orbigny and Lafresnaye): Black-faced
Ant-thrush, Gallito Hormiguero
Ficure 18
Myothera analis d’Orbigny and Lafresnaye, Syn. Av., in Mag. Zool., vol. 7,
1837, p. 14. (Yucares and Chiquitos, Bolivia.)
Medium size, with heavy body and short tail; terrestrial; throat
black ; side of head and neck chestnut.
Description —Length 165-185 mm. Plumage dense and compact.
Adult, sexes alike, crown and hindneck from rufous-brown and
chestnut-brown to nearly black, rest of upper surface brown, varying
from somewhat olive-brown to chestnut-brown; lower rump and
upper tail coverts chestnut-brown to dull rufous-brown; base of tail
brown, tip blackish slate, black, or almost wholly black; suborbital
area, chin and throat black; lores also black, but with a central spot
of white; side of head behind eye and side of neck chestnut to
rufous-brown ; under surface gray, varying from light to dark, with
lower breast and abdomen paler, to nearly white; under tail coverts
chestnut to rufous-brown; under wing coverts buff tipped with
sooty brown; under surface of wing banded broadly with rufous.
Juvenile, plumage softer; chin and upper throat dull white to
buff, with the feather tips dull sooty brown; fore crown brown,
spotted lightly with black, changing posteriorly to dull black.
In a slightly older stage the throat and upper foreneck are white,
slightly washed with rufous, and banded narrowly with dusky.
From southern México to northern Honduras, the populations of
this species have a narrow but distinct collar of rufous to chestnut
on the lower foreneck as a continuation of the brown on either side of
the neck. This is found in the races recognized as moniliger, pallidus,
and intermedius. Farther south in Central America from south-
eastern Honduras through eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and
Panama into northern South America, the collar is not present, or in
southern Central America may be faintly and indistinctly indicated
by a few spots.
214 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Ridgway in 1911 (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, pp. 117-118)
recognized analis as a distinct species, and grouped the races of
Central America and northern South America under the species name,
moniliger. Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 3, 1924, pp. 282-288)
included all under analis. Peters (Check-list Birds World, vol. 7,
1951, pp. 240-242) accepted this procedure, which is followed here.
It should be added that studies by Irby Davis (Birds Mex. Central
Figure 18.—Black-faced ant-thrush, gallito hormiguero, Formicarius analis.
Amer., 1972, p. 120) of the voice in males record differences suggest-
ing that three or more species may be included under the name analis.
FORMICARIUS ANALIS HOFFMANNI (Cabanis)
Myrmornis Hoffmanni Cabanis, Journ. f. Orn., vol. 9, March 1861, p. 95.
(Costa Rica. )
Characters ——Dark above, somewhat olive-brown; markings of the
tail, and the chestnut-brown of sides and head, dark as in F. a.
umbrosus.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui and western Costa
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 215
Rica), wing 90.5-96.1 (93.3), tail 48.4-53.3 (51.9), culmen from
base 23.0-25.8 (24.4), tarsus 33.5-37.7 (34.8) mm.
Females (7 from Chiriqui and western Costa Rica), wing 88.2-
93.1 (90.9), tail 47.1-53.1 (50.4), culmen from base 22.3-24.7
(23.4), tarsus 31.8-34.1 (32.8) mm.
Resident. Rather rare; found locally in forested areas in western
Chiriqui, mainly in the tropical lowlands, but to 1460 meters on Cerro
Pando.
The first report, by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 195),
was of one taken by Arcé at Bugaba. Bangs (Auk, 1901, p. 366)
received a female secured by Brown at Divala, December 11, 1900.
In my own studies I collected a male and heard others calling in the
forest at 1250 meters above the Quebrada Guisado, near Santa Clara,
March 20, 1954. We have two taken by Dr. Frank Hartman near
El Volcan, February 27, 1949, and March 7, 1951. In my collections,
a female was taken February 16, 1960, at 1460 meters on Cerro
Pando, west of El Volcan, and a male was caught March 17, 1965,
in a mist net at a lower elevation, near Palo Santo.
Through the observations of Alexander Skutch in southwestern
Costa Rica (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 275-289) the life
history of this race is known in detail. As the birds walk over the
forest floor they flick leaves aside with the bill to expose insects hid-
ing underneath. These are seized instantly. They also come to raid-
ing ant swarms but remain on the ground outside the moving ants,
and pick up fleeing insects. Small lizards are eaten regularly, and
once Skutch saw one killing a tiny snake. He found the nests regu-
larly in the tubelike hollow centers of dead, or occasionally of living
trunks of slender palms or other trees, often at some distance below
the entrance hole. Dead leaves were used often in considerable
amount as a base for the nest. In this two eggs were laid, oval in
form and, when fresh, white with slight gloss. They quickly become
stained from the damp nesting material, or dirty from mud from
the feet of the incubating birds. Two eggs measured 33.9 x 24.8 and
33.4x 24.8 mm. Both male and female incubate and care for the
young. These at hatching have dark gray down so long that it com-
pletely envelops them. At the corners of the mouth there are wide
white flanges that stand out prominently in the dark nest cavity.
Young at about 18 days of age are well feathered, but with the
developing contour feathers still much covered by the long down.
At this age they appear at the nest opening, fly down the short
distance, and then follow the parents as they walk on the ground.
216 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
This western race was named by Cabanis for Dr. Carl Hoffman,
the naturalist, who collected the type specimen in Costa Rica.
FORMICARIUS ANALIS UMBROSUS Ridgway
Formicarius umbrosus Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 16, November 28,
1893, pp. 670 (in Key), 681. (Talamanca, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Dark chestnut-brown above, with tail black for most
or all of upper surface; side of head and neck darker brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua), wing 84.4-94.8 (90.0), tail 46.2-54.4 (51.4), culmen
from base 21.6-24.4 (23.1), tarsus 29.0-35.8 (33.4) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua),
wing 83.9-91.2 (87.9), tail 46.1-53.3 (49.9), culmen from base 20.6—
23.8 (22.3), tarsus 31.5-35.0 (33.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forests of western Bocas del Toro.
The first records of this subspecies for Panama were specimens
collected by Hasso von Wedel, taken near Almirante May 24, 1927,
and July 17, 1928; at Guabo (a farm near Chiriquicito) April 4 and 9,
1928; and at 360 meters elevation at Buena Vista, on the trail from
Chiriqui Grande to Boquete, March 23, 1928. Two from Zegla,
near the mouth of the Rio Terebe on the Rio Changuinola, in the
Peabody Museum, Yale University, were taken by Austin Smith
May 18 and 20, 1927. The National Museum has two from Almirante,
secured by C. O. Handley, Jr., February 14, 1960, and by Rudolfo
Hinds, May 23, 1961. Eugene Eisenmann (Condor, 1957, p. 254)
recorded them near Changuinola at the end of June and the first of
July 1957. They may be only local in this region as I did not find them
there from January to March 1958.
The race umbrosus ranges on the Caribbean slope from the Rio
Guampu, eastern Honduras (Monroe, A.O.U., Mon. 7, 1968, p. 238)
south through Nicaragua and Costa Rica. From present information,
it is not known east of the Laguna de Chiriqui in Bocas del Toro.
A nest, supposed to be this species, placed “in a low, large-leaved
plant” which held one heavily spotted egg, found by M. A. Carriker,
Jr., near the Rio Sixaola, Costa Rica in March 1904 (Ann. Carnegie
Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 625) was wrongly identified, as birds of this
species nest in holes and lay plain white eggs.
FORMICARIUS ANALIS PANAMENSIS Ridgway
Formicarius moniliger panamensis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol.
21, October 20, 1908, p. 195. (Talamanca, Costa Rica.)
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 217
Characters.—Paler, more buffy brown above; black of upper
surface of tail restricted to distal half; side of head and neck, and
upper and under tail coverts, lighter, brighter brown.
A male taken near the Candelaria Hydrographic Station on the Rio
Pequeni, above Madden Lake, in eastern Province of Panama,
March 3, 1961, had the iris wood brown; bill black; tarsus, toes,
and claws light fuscous-brown. Another from Armila, San Blas,
collected February 27, 1963, had the iris warm mouse brown; bill
black; tibiotarsal joint distinctly white, in contrast with the light
dull brown of the tarsus and toes; claws neutral gray.
A female, from La Jagua, eastern Province of Panama, January 14,
1962, had the iris dark reddish brown; bill black; tarsus mouse
brown ; toes and claws somewhat darker.
Measurements——Males (10 from Coclé, Colon, Province of
Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 87.0-90.5 (89.0), tail 46.0-52.8
(48.9), culmen from base 20.5-22.7 (21.7), tarsus 30.2-34.1
(32.7) mm.
Females (10 from Coclé, Colén, Canal Zone, Province of Panama,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 83.1-89.8 (86.4), tail 41.9-52.3 (47.6),
culmen from base 20.6-23.4 (22.1), tarsus 31.0-34.5 (32.7) mm.
R. S. Crossin recorded the weight of a male taken August 10,
1968, as 54.1 grams (without fat).
Resident. Fairly common in lowland forests on the Pacific side
from eastern Coclé (El Valle) through Darién; on the Caribbean
slope from northern Coclé (El Uracillo) and western Colon (Rio
Indio) east through San Blas to the Colombian boundary; to 500
meters on Cerro Pirre, and to 600 meters in other mountain areas.
From available data there is a gap in the distribution of this ant-
thrush on the Pacific slope from central Chiriqui to Coclé, including
the Azuero Peninsula. Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1866, p. 74)
reports that “‘a young bird from Veragua exhibits the precise plumage
of the adult,” and (idem, 1867, pp. 145-146) lists a specimen in the
first Arcé collections from Panama as from “Santiago de Veragua.”
This record, repeated by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer.,
Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 235), is open to question. In regard to this it
may be noted that Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 15, 1890,
p. 304) under “Formicarius hoffmanni” from the Salvin-Godman
collection, lists ‘‘e. ¢ jr. sk. Chepo, Panama.” Arcé’s first collections
in Panama were made at Chepo from late 1864 to 1865, so that it
seems probable that the “Veragua” report may be based on the Chepo
specimen mentioned. In my own field work this bird was recorded in
218 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
1951 and 1953 at El Valle, on the Pacific slope in Coclé, and in 1952
it was taken at El Uracillo on the Caribbean slope in that province.
Also in 1952, we found it near Chilar, on the Rio Indio, in western
Colon. These are the most western authentic records that are known
to me. From the Canal Zone eastward these birds are fairly common.
Like others of the genus they are birds of the forest floor that
walk through the shadows with long stride, the neck extended, and
the short twitching tail held at an angle above the back, so that in
appearance they suggest small rails. Males may come quietly to peer
at human intruders, but more usually their presence is known from
their whistled calls, one clear note, followed after a slight pause by
two or three others, repeated more rapidly. Occasionally the whistle
is varied by chattering, scolding notes. The call, easily imitated, brings
immediate response so that presently the bird may approach and be
seen. The clicking of a metal cartridge on a gun barrel or machete
blade may also arouse their curiosity. Often, however, they remain
well concealed. When suddenly startled they fly readily, and then may
rise a meter or so above the ground. This, however, is unusual. In
the hand, they are heavy bodied and full-feathered.
It is common ‘to see them walking at the border of ant swarms.
On Barro Colorado Island, R. A. Johnson (Proc. Linn. Soc. New
York, nos. 63-65, March 1954, pp. 48, 57) found them at ant columns
when these crossed any ant-thrush territory but not following when
the insects had moved outside this limit. Stomachs that I have ex-
amined have held remains of ants, and of a variety of small beetles
and beetle larvae, hymenoptera, caterpillars, earwigs, millipedes,
spiders, and small lizard bones, as well as seeds of Oxalis, Rubiaceae,
and miscellaneous vegetable fibers.
Though widely distributed, little in detail is known of the nesting
of these birds. Cherrie (Sci. Bull. Brooklyn Inst. Arts. Sci., vol. 1,
no. 13, 1908, p. 366) concerning the race F. a. saturatus on Trinidad
noted that ‘this species nests in holes in trees.”
Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1936, p. 811) on Trinidad report
“what is believed to have been a nest of this species on the Heights
of Arima (Morne Bleu) on 26 March, 1928. It was a cup of root-
fibres and leaf-stems placed in a hole in a tree-stump at about 3 meters
from the ground. The two eggs were slightly incubated: They are
pure white, smooth-shelled, regular ovals, and measure 28.4 21.9
and 26.8 x 21.2 mm.” (The eggs recorded here are smaller than those
described by Mees listed below.) That this species nests in holes was
proved by a photograph by Howard H. Cleaves (Wilson Bull., vol.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 219
56, no. 2, June 1944, frontispiece) taken by flashlight on Barro
Colorado Island, Canal Zone, May 19, 1929. This shows one of these
birds with the body halfway out of a hole in the trunk of a slender
shrub. With the picture is the observation that the “nest was three
feet above the ground and contained one egg.” The egg was not de-
scribed. For Formicarius analis analis Pinto (Papéis Avulsos, Dept.
Zool. Secr. Agric. S40 Paulo, vol. 11, no. 13, June 1953, p. 169)
records two eggs, collected at Utinga, a suburb of Belém, March 12,
1929, as white, with measurements of 3223 and 29.5x23 mm.
A further account of F. a. saturatus, not fully definite, by G. F. Mees
(in Junge and Mees, Avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago, Zool. Verh.
Rijksm. Nat. Hist. Leiden, no. 37, 1958, p. 91) describes a nest
“almost certainly of this species, but only a glimpse of the bird,
when fleeing from it, was found on 8 October [1953] near the
summit of Mt. Tabor. It was in a hollow tree of about 20 cm.
diameter. The two eggs are white, roundish, and measure 31.5 xX
23.8 + 32 x 24.6. They were heavily incubated, but could be preserved,
they are rather dirty.” Finally Skutch (Ibis, 1966, p. 10) in studies
in western Costa Rica remarks that F. analis “nests in low, hollow
trunks, often in cavities open to rain at the top.”
Cherrie in his Ornithology of the Orinoco Region in description
of the related species Formicarius colma colma (Mus. Brooklyn
Inst. Arts, Sci., Science Bull., vol. 2, no. 6, 1916, p. 292) wrote that a
nest “from which the parent was flushed, was found at Nericagua in
March 1899. It was a natural cavity in a tree trunk, about 5 metres
from the ground. The cavity was about 40 cm. in depth and about
15 cm. in diameter. The bottom was lined with rootlets and dry
grasses. The two eggs were pure white.” It is of interest to refer
also to the accounts by Meise (in Schonwetter, Handb. Ool., pt.14,
1967, pp. 42, 43) of eggs in this genus, in which he cites white eggs
without marking in Formicarius analis in the subspecies moniliger,
hoffmanni, saturatus (but with reference to Belcher and Smooker,
quoted above), crissalis and analis, and also in Formicarius colma
ruficeps.
From this summary there seems to be no question that the species of
Formicarius, unlike others of the family, nest in holes and lay white
eggs.
As I have handled these birds in the field in the preparation of
museum specimens I have noted that the pterylosis does not agree
with that of such Formicariids as Cymbilaimus lineatus, Taraba
major, Myrmeciza longipes, and M. exsul, where the dorsal area
220 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
broadens in the center of the back and terminates distally in a
rounded margin with a broad apterion, except for a few scattered
feathers, extending down to the region of the upper tail coverts.
Instead, in Formicarius analis panamensis as recorded in male and
female taken at Mandinga, San Blas, February 5, 1957, and a male
collected near the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, back of Madden
Lake, March 3, 1961, the dorsal feathering was an elongate ellipse
expanding over the back at the level of the heads of the humeri,
with a long, narrow central apterion. As it continues it narrows at
the lower end and terminates without a break at the upper tail
coverts.
FORMICARIUS NIGRICAPILLUS NIGRICAPILLUS Ridgway:
Black-headed Ant-thrush, Gallito Hormiguero Cabecinegro
Formicarius nigricapillus “Cherrie,’” Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 16,
November 28, 1893, pp. 670 (in key), 675. (Buenavista, Province of Alajuela,
Costa Rica.)
Size and form of the Black-faced Ant-thrush, but head entirely
black.
Description —Length 165-175 mm; crown, side of head and neck,
and breast black; hindneck, upper side of neck, back, and scapulars
chestnut-brown; rump and upper tail coverts rufous-brown; tail
dull black, with a faint brownish tinge; primaries and secondaries
dusky-brown edged with chestnut-brown; black of upper breast
changing gradually to brownish slate-gray on lower breast and ab-
domen:; side and flanks basally similar to abdomen, but with a wash
of olive; under tail coverts rufous-brown; under wing coverts black
at base and tip, ochraceous in center ; axillars similar, but central area
buff; inner webs of wings with a broad band of ochraceous.
Adult female, similar to male, but with lower surface more olive.
Measurements——Males (9 from Bocas del Toro, Veraguas, western
sector of Province of Panama, and Costa Rica), wing 89.2—94.1
(91.3), tail 44.5-51.5 (48.9), culmen from base 22.8-26.1 (24.7),
tarsus 31.5-33.5 (32.4).
Females (5 from Veraguas and Costa Rica), wing 85.0-92.4 (89.0),
tail 45.4-48.6 (46.4), culmen from base 24.1-27.6 (25.2), tarsus
29.8-31.5 (30.4) mm.
Resident. Rare, in heavy forest in the upper Tropical Zone. Five
records—two in Bocas del Toro, two in Veraguas, and one on Cerro
Campana, western Province of Panama.
The first report (under the name Formicarius analis) is of an
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 221
immature female (now in the British Museum) taken by Arcé and
forwarded to Salvin in one of his early collections. It is labeled
“Veragua’”’ and was so listed by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1866, p. 74), but the following year was cited by this same author
(idem, 1867, p. 145) as from “Santiago de Veragua,” and still later
by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892,
p. 235) as “Santiago de Veraguas.”’ Since F. nigricapillus is not
found in the lowlands, this is another of the early erroneous reports
attributed to “Santiago.” It may have come from Arcé’s locality
Calovévora, as a female in the American Museum of Natural History,
labeled Rio Calovévora, was taken there by Benson, September 12,
1926.
Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 321) records a
male taken by H. von Wedel, March 24, 1928, at 450 meters on the
trail from Chiriqui Grande to Boquete, in Bocas del Toro. Blake
(Fieldiana Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 532) listed another male collected
July 14, 1933, at 1460 meters at Cedral, higher up on this same
trail. The fifth report is of a male that I found at 900 meters near
the summit of Cerro Campana, on the south face, in the western sector
of the Province of Panama. This individual ranged in heavily
shaded undergrowth, and unlike Formicarius analis was silent. It may
be noted that because of the sweep of the trade winds over this
elevated ridge the vegetation was dripping wet on the exposed
northern slope, and correspondingly dry on the other side.
In Costa Rica, Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
p. 220) reports that F. n. nigricapillus is known from “the Cordillera
Central and from the Cerro de Santa Maria in the Guanacaste
Cordillera. . . . This distribution makes it almost exclusively a
Caribbean species confined to the upper tropical and lower subtropical
belts.”
From the little known of the few individuals that have been re-
ported, it is similar to the widely distributed F. analis in form and
general appearance, but differs definitely in darker color pattern. This
is seen especially on the head, where the reddish brown pattern of
the other group is replaced by an extension of the black of the crown.
The nominate race of nigricapillus, as stated, is found in Costa Rica
and western Panama. The subspecies F. n. destructus, named by
Hartert from western Ecuador, ranges in western Colombia north
to central Choco.
Eisenmann reports the call, heard on Cerro Campana, as a single
note, given about 10 times in the space of 5 seconds, with repetition
222 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
following a brief pause. He described it as melancholy in tone, with
a slight acceleration toward the end and a sudden stop.
From information now available, nigricapillus seems in general
to replace analis. In our series of 11 specimens of destructus from
the departments of Valle and Chocd, Colombia, there is no indication
of hybridization with analts, listed as a possibility by Haffer (Amer.
Mus. Nov. 2294, 1967, p. 13). The two, while evidently closely
related, so far as known appear to have developed into distinct
species entities.
Hartert (Nov. Zool., vol. 9, December 1902, p. 614) in an account
of the Black-headed Ant-thrush in Ecuador, remarks that ““Two eggs,
said to belong to... destructus, are white without gloss, more
pointed at one end, and measure 294 x 224 and 304x224 mm.”
FORMICARIUS RUFIPECTUS Salvin: Rufous-breasted Ant-thrush,
Gallito Hormiguero Pechicastafio
Size medium; larger than other ant-thrushes, with tawny breast.
Description —Length 180-200 mm. Adult male, crown and
hindneck dark chestnut, with feather bases dull black; rest of upper
surface (except rump) dark olive; rump and upper tail coverts
reddish chestnut; wings dark sooty brown; tail dull black; side of
head and throat black; lower foreneck and upper breast chestnut,
changing on lower breast and abdomen to tawny; under tail coverts
bright chestnut ; sides and flanks olive, in part indistinctly lined with
chestnut ; under wing coverts blackish olive mixed with rufous; an-
terior bases of primaries cinnamon-buff.
Adult female, like male, but back and wings more slaty, under
surface paler.
Immature, like female but with throat brownish black; browner
on upper foreneck.
The habits and nesting of this forest species as yet are unknown.
Two races are recorded from the Republic, one in the west, and
the other in Darién.
FORMICARIUS RUFIPECTUS RUFIPECTUS Salvin
Formicarius rufipectus Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, May 1866, p. 73, pl. 8.
(“Santiago de Veraguas,’ = Santa Fé, Veraguas. )
Characters—Breast darker chestnut; sides and flanks darker ;
more brownish above.
Measurements——Males (5 from Veraguas and Costa Rica), wing
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 223
90.0-94.3 (92.0), tail 52.1-56.8 (55.0), culmen from base 24.4—27.0
(25.7), tarsus 39.5-41.2 (40.3) mm.
Female (1 from Veraguas), wing 87.1, tail 51.0, culmen from base
26.5, tarsus 40.1 mm.
Resident. Rare, in upper Tropical and Subtropical Zone forests.
Reported in Panama from mountain areas in western Veraguas and
Chiriqui.
In the original description Salvin listed the type locality only as
“in Veragua.” In a second account (idem, 1867, p. 145) he expanded
this somewhat to “Santiago de Veragua.”” Salvin and Godman ( Biol.
Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 236) said of it, “F. rufipectus
was described from a single skin (marked 2) obtained by our col-
lector Arcé at Santiago de Veraguas; he some years afterwards
secured us a second specimen.’ The type specimen, in the British
Museum, I found to be labeled merely “Veragua.”’ From the record
cited above, the bird came to Salvin in one of the first collections from
Arcé in which there was often confusion as to provenience. In this
case, as the species is an inhabitant of mountain forests, Santiago,
far distant in the tropical lowlands toward the sea, is obviously in-
correct. From the records of Arcé’s early work the bird must have
been taken near Santa Fé, where he made his first collections in
eVerdeua. 9) Thuis, therefore, is) cited here.as | the ‘restricted type
locality.
The label of the later specimen mentioned by Salvin and Godman
reads, “Veragua, Arcé, 1874.” In connection with this it should be
noted that the term “‘Veragua” at that early date included both
Chiriqui and Veraguas as at present recognized. As in the period
indicated Arcé was located in western Chiriqui, this bird probably
was taken on the volcano, possibly in the Boquete area. The sex
is not marked, but from the wing measurement of 94.3 mm, and the
color, it appears to be a male.
FORMICARIUS RUFIPECTUS CARRIKERI Chapman
Formicarius rufipectus carrikeri Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 31,
July 1912, p. 146. (San Antonio, above Cali, Valle, Colombia. )
Characters.—Breast somewhat paler brown; sides and flanks paler ;
upper surface darker, blackish slate.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién, western Colombia, and
northwestern Ecuador), wing 88.8-94.7 (91.9), tail 52.0-58.8)
(54.3), culmen from base 24.2-27.7 (25.6), tarsus 38.5-41.8
(40.2) mm.
224 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Females (10 from Darién, western Colombia, and northern Ecua-
dor), wing 86.2-90.8 (88.5), tail 50.5-56.8 (53.4), culmen from
base 23.0-27.0 (24.8), tarsus 36.5-41.7 (38.7) mm.
A female, from Cerro Mali, Darién, February 21, 1964, had the
iris wood brown; bill black; tarsus and toes fuscous, claws fuscous-
black.
Resident. Recorded from Subtropical Zone forests on Cerro Pirre,
and the Cerro Mali spur of Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién.
The first report of this little-known form for Panama was a
pair collected by E. A. Goldman at 1525 meters on Cerro Pirre,
March 5, 1912. Two in the American Museum of Natural History
were taken by A. W. Anthony and his party at the old Tacarcuna
village site on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna, March 7 and 27, 1915.
From Cerro Mali, at 1430 meters I have a female caught on Febru-
ary 21, 1964, in a mouse trap set in the forest. C. O. Handley, Jr.,
secured two others there, captured also in traps, on February 12
and 18, 1964. These were preserved entire in formaldehyde.
Anthony’s specimens from eastern Darién were placed by Zimmer
(Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 584, 1932, p. 9) with typical rufipectus. In
the present review, in which I have had the advantage of study of
the type and other specimens of nominate rufipectus in London, they
differ from that race and agree with carrikeri. They were therefore
correctly listed by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935,
p. 336).
GYMNOPITHYS BICOLOR (Lawrence): Bicolored Ant-bird,
Hormiguero Bicolor
Size medium, with heavy body and short tail; reddish brown
above and on the sides ; breast and throat white.
Description.—Length 132-145 mm. Side of head surrounding the
eye bare, without feathers. Adult (sexes alike), upper surface
chestnut-brown; inner webs of wing feathers dusky, outer webs
chestnut-brown ; side of head below the bare area black; throat, fore-
neck, center of breast and abdomen white; sides from neck to flanks
lighter brown than back; in some, spots of this paler color along side
of neck and breast; under tail coverts like flanks, but in some tipped
with buff or white ; under wing coverts mixed buffy brown and white.
Juvenile, plumage of upper surface chestnut-brown, with wing
coverts tipped indistinctly with rufous; under surface dull grayish
brown, with the throat bare but edged with white; breast basally
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 225
white, the light color partly evident in center; cheeks and malar
region dull black.
These are birds of the forest undergrowth, most common in the
lowlands and lower hills from central Panama eastward. Their
life history has been described by Dr. Edwin O. Willis whose de-
tailed report, The Behavior of Bicolored Antbirds (Univ. Cal. Publ.
Zool., vol. 79, 1967, pp. 1-127, 3 pls., 21 figs.), covers many months
of observation in Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern Colombia.
Zimmer in a review of these birds in Pert (Amer. Mus. Nov., no.
917, 1937, p. 5) combined two groups of generally similar appearance,
viz., bicolor and leucaspis under the latter name, an action accepted
by Peters (Check-list Birds World, vol. 7, 1951, pp. 247-248) and
currently in general use. Willis points out (cit. supra, p. 3) that if this
course is followed there should be a further combination with another
similar group, rufigula, which is brown underneath. In another state-
ment, Willis (Condor, 1968, p. 128) prefers to treat them as three
separate species, a course that appears appropriate on existing evi-
dence. The subspecies united under the specific name bicolor have
the central under surface pure white, with the side of the head on
cheeks, malar, and anterior-auricular regions black. The females
have the center of the back plain brown. The leucaspis group of
forms also are white on the under surface but include in this color
the side of the head. They also have a black superciliary. The
females have a large area of cinnamon-rufous partly hidden by the
longer feather tips in the center of the back, that would be prominent
in display.
The bicolor group as here accepted, ranges from the Caribbean slope
of Honduras and Nicaragua, in Costa Rica also on the Pacific side,
and continues in Panama and Colombia to western Ecuador. Two
subspecies are found in Panama.
GYMNOPITHYS BICOLOR OLIVASCENS (Ridgway)
Pithys bicolor olivascens Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, October 26,
1891, p. 469. (Santa Ana, Honduras. )
Characters —Forehead and side of head behind eye chestnut-brown
like the rest of the crown; very slightly more olive on dorsal surface
when viewed in series.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro),
wing 72.8-76.6 (74.8), tail 42.3-47.8 (45.1), culmen from base
19.1-20.2 (19.6, average of 9), tarsus 26.0-27.2 (26.4) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica),
226 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
wing 71.2-73.6 (72.6), tail 41.4-44.9 (43.0), culmen from base
18.3-20.8 (19.3), tarsus 25.2-26.5 (26.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forests in the Tropical Zone in Chiriqui,
Veraguas, and Bocas del Toro. Now reduced in number in Chiriqui
through forest clearing.
From Chiriqui, Arcé in early collections made for Salvin for-
warded one from Bugaba, and there is one from this same collector
in the National Museum marked Chiriqui without other locality.
W. W. Brown, Jr., sent male and female from Divala taken No-
vember and December 1900, to Bangs. Three in the California
Academy of Sciences from Barriles, at a higher elevation, were col-
lected by Mrs. Davidson in December 1929, and February 1931.
The U.S. National Museum has four from El Volcan, secured by
F. A. Hartman between 1951 and 1956.
The few known from Bocas del Toro are slightly intermediate
toward typical bicolor in somewhat grayish forehead, but are best
placed with olivascens. These include three collected by Benson near
Almirante, one taken by Wedel at 750 meters on the Boquete Trail,
March 17, 1928, and one obtained by Monniche at 1460 meters
on this same trail July 14, 1933.
Alexander Skutch (Anim. Kingd., vol. 60, 1957, pp. 75-80)
records an interesting experience near El General, Costa Rica, in
which one of these birds joined him regularly as he walked slowly
through the forest, to capture the insects that his feet flushed from
the leaves. In time, this bird became so tame that Skutch was allowed
to touch it with the end of a small stick but not with his hand. The
association continued for sixteen months, and during this period was
resumed immediately when Skutch returned after an absence of
several months. Once the bird accompanied him for a distance of
half a mile without hesitation. Always, however, it refused to leave
the forest shelter “into the brighter light of neighboring second-
growth thickets or pastures.” When the bird finally disappeared it
was three years before another undertook this association, but in all
he had several that followed this friendly custom. Occasionally he was
accompanied by two together, possibly a pair.
A nest that Skutch found was placed in a hollow palm stump, open
at the top. He described the two eggs as ‘‘creamy . . . thickly marked
with elongate blotches of rufous-chocolate, which lay in a nest com-
posed of a double handful of leaf fragments, with a thin lining of
rootlets and other fibrous material.” Both birds of the pair in-
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 227
cubated. The young when hatched ‘“‘had dark flesh-colored skin
wholly devoid of down, and the interior of their mouths was yellow.”
GYMNOPITHYS BICOLOR BICOLOR (Lawrence)
Pithys bicolor Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, 1863, p. 6.
(Atlantic slope near the Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters.—Forehead and side of head back of the eye dark
gray ; very faintly more reddish brown above.
A male, taken at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 13, 1961, had
the iris dark brown; mandibular rami and maxilla, except as noted,
dusky neutral gray, cutting edge of maxilla to tip, and rest of mandi-
ble neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray; bare skin on
side of head light grayish blue. Two males from Armila, San Blas,
February 21 and 27, 1963, had the iris bright reddish brown; cutting
edge and tip of maxilla and distal half of mandible neutral gray; rest
of bill, including mandibular rami black; tarsus, toes, and claws
neutral gray.
Three females, collected in mist nets at Armila, February 27, 1963,
had the iris warm brown, but otherwise were like the males from
this locality.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, Colon, and Province
of Panama), wing 73.3-76.4 (74.6), tail 43.3-47.5 (45.2), culmen
from base 19.8-21.2 (20.3), tarsus 27.0-28.5 (27.5) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 70.0-74.6 (73.0), tail 42.0-44.8 (43.7), culmen from
base 19.0—20.8 (19.8), tarsus 26.3-27.9 (26.9) mm.
Weight, ¢ 33.1 grams (Gamboa, August 10, coll. R. S. Crossin).
Resident. Locally common in Tropical Zone forests on the Pacific
slope from Santa Fé, Veraguas, east through Darién, to 575 meters
in the mountains: on the Caribbean side from the Rio Calovévora,
northern Veraguas east through the Comarca de San Blas.
The report by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 145),
repeated by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves vol. 2,
1892, p. 221) of a specimen (now in the British Museum in London),
collected by Arcé from Santa Fé, Veraguas, is verified by a series in
the American Museum of Natural History taken by R. R. Benson in
1926. He secured others on the Caribbean slope on the Rio Calo-
vevora.
These are birds of the undergrowth in forest, found occasionally
singly, more often in pairs or several in loose association, almost in-
variably over moving ant swarms. In this association they tend to
228 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
move quickly with partly spread, trembling wings. Attention often is
attracted to them by their high pitched calls. During March 1950,
at our forest camp on the Quebrada Cauchero near the boundary be-
tween eastern Province of Panama and Darién one came daily to
sing a clear, simple song of a dozen whistled notes, with four or five
others, scattered through the forest nearby, answering in kind. When
ant swarms were inactive often I have found these birds so shy that
few were seen, so that their abundance was difficult to ascertain. As
an example, in February and March 1963, in our daily search in the
forest near Armila, San Blas, that regularly gave us little-known
species of birds, we saw these ant-thrushes only when they were
caught in our mist nets.
Willis in his detailed account of behavior, referred to above, in
the nesting cycle describes the courtship during which the male begins
to feed the female until finally she “gradually stops foraging and
comes to depend on her mate for food.” The nest site is usually a
cavity in the top of a stub among the bases of palm fronds near
the ground. The nest, according to Willis, “is a simple cup of .. .
dead strips of palm leaves and fragments of dead dicotyledonous
leaves, pressed into the bottom of the cavity or wedged across it after
the birds have thrown out dead leaves and other accumulated
debris . . . the two eggs . . . are always white to cream, heavily
streaked and splotched longitudinally with dark reddish brown.”
Van Tyne (Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan, no. 491, 1944,
p. 2) gives measurements of two eggs from a nest on Barro Colorado
Island as 24.518 and 23.518 mm. Willis (cit. supra, pp. 84-85)
found that both male and female share in incubation, as is usual in
this family. At one nest the incubation period was 15 days, and at
another 16 days.
With regard to the food, Willis (loc. cit., p. 32) records that “Birds
which follow army ants generally eat arthropods flushed by the ants
rather than the ants themselves. Once a bicolored antbird ate an army
ant, but usually the antbirds snapped up roaches, crickets, other
orthopterans, and spiders. Less commonly the prey is a scorpion,
centipede, millipede, sourbug, true bug, beetle, or ant or other
hymenopteran. Rarely vertebrates, such as small frogs and lizards
(mostly Anolis limifrons) are captured.” In stomach examinations
I have found earwigs, gryllids, moths, hymenoptera, and spider
remains.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 229
HYLOPHYLAX NAEVIOIDES (Lafresnaye): Spotted Ant-bird,
Corregidor
Ficure 19
Small; tail short; back chestnut-brown with a concealed white
patch ; black wings heavily marked with brown; throat in male, black ;
in female, buff.
Description.—Length 105-120 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck grayish brown to olive-brown, changing to gray on forehead,
lores and side of head behind the eye; back chestnut (with the con-
cealed central area white) changing to dull cinnamon on the upper
tail coverts ; wings black, with middle and greater coverts and secon-
Figure 19.—Spotted ant-bird, corregidor, Hylophylax naevioides, male.
daries tipped broadly with cinnamon-rufous; lesser coverts spotted
with white; tail grayish brown, with a subterminal band of black,
tipped with cinnamon, outer rectrices with tips paler brown to white;
throat and malar area black: lower foreneck to abdomen white, the
breast and anterior area of the sides spotted heavily with black;
sides gray, passing to brownish buff on flanks ; under tail coverts pale
brownish buff; under wing coverts and axillars mixed gray and
white, spotted with black on the carpal edge.
Adult female, crown and hindneck dull brown; back dull chestnut
with concealed white area small; wing markings as in male, except
that the lesser coverts are spotted with buff; side of head blackish
230 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
slate, lined narrowly with pale cinnamon-brown; throat white or
buff ; rest of central lower surface white or with a wash of buff, the
breast spotted irregularly with olive or dull gray; sides and flanks
olive to olive-buff ; tail as in male.
Juvenile male, like female, but without concealed white on the back.
These small birds are found in the undergrowth in gallery forest,
usually in pairs or small groups that may include a dozen individuals
when assembled over moving ant swarms. Attention is drawn to
them by their chattering calls, often scolding in sound, and their
trilling songs. They range low, immediately above the ants, often
fluttering excitedly from perch to perch. At rest, the tail is twitched
nervously and the slightly extended wings tremble. At times I have
found them near moving lines of leaf-cutting ants, though it seemed
that this was a casual association as the birds were less active and
made little noise. Because of their activities country men in eastern
Panama, especially in Darién, call them corregidor, the title of the
head official in small settlements, as they say that the bird by its calls
and active movements assembles and directs the activities of the
other avian species encountered with them. Like their companions
their food is taken from the insects and other small creatures dis-
turbed as the ants surge across the ground cover of leaves and
other debris.
When away from the ant swarms, these ant-birds are found in
pairs that move through the undergrowth, near the ground. In
heavily shaded areas often they remain hidden as they are quiet with-
out the nervous display and active movements that they affect when
excited by the moving hordes of ants. Only the white collar on the
foreneck, that shows clearly even in subdued light, may attract the
human eye. (On life history, see Willis, A. O. U. Mon. 10, 1972.)
In preparing specimens it will be noted that the head is especially
large in proportion to the size of the body so that the skull is passed
through the cylinder of the neck skin only with considerable pressure.
As a species these birds range from the Caribbean lowlands of
eastern Honduras through Nicaragua and Costa Rica (where in
Guanacaste they cross to the Pacific slope). They continue on the
Caribbean side through western Panama in Bocas del Toro and
northern Veraguas, appear on the Pacific drainage on Cerro Campana,
and then are found where there is suitable forest cover on both slopes
through the Canal Zone and the whole of the lowlands of eastern
Panama in Darién and the Comarca de San Blas. They have not been
recorded on the Azuero Peninsula.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 231
HYLOPHYLAX NAEVIOIDES CAPNITIS (Bangs)
Hypocnemts naevioides capnitis Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19,
July 10, 1906, p. 107. (Volcan Miravalles, Costa Rica.)
Characters—Back somewhat darker; sides and flanks slightly
darker gray; subterminal black tip on tail narrower, with the
rufescent brown on the end darker; female more grayish on under
surface ; averaging slightly larger.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Veraguas, Nicaragua, and Costa
Rica), wing 60.4-65.0 (62.9), tail 31.4-36.6 (34.5), culmen from
base 17.2-18.1 (17.6, average of 9), tarsus 22.0-23.3 (22.5) mm.
Females (10 from Veraguas, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica), wing
59.6-64.0 (61.7), tail 30.4-33.4 (31.7), culmen from base 16.1-
18.5 (17.7), tarsus 22.0-23.5 (22.7) mm.
Resident. Found in restricted number near Santa Fe, Veraguas,
on the Pacific slope, and in Bocas del Toro, from the Rio Sixaola
westward, inland on the Rio Changuena (at 700 meters) ; ranging
east on the Caribbean slope of northern Veraguas to the valley of the
Rio Calovévora.
A male collected by von Wedel near Guabo (beyond Chiriquicito,
inland from Chiriqui Grande) April 8, 1928, was the first published
report of this race for Panama (Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 71, 1931, p. 321). There are, however, two specimens, male and
female, in the Havemeyer collection in the Peabody Museum at New
Haven, taken earlier by Austin Smith at Sibube, inland on the Rio
Sixaola, February 12, 1927. Others in the American Museum of
Natural History were collected by R. R. Benson near Santa Fé,
Veraguas, in March and April 1925, and near the Rio Calovévora on
the Caribbean slope of northern Veraguas in August and September
1926. A male in the National Museum was taken by R. Hinds,
September 23, 1961, at about 700 meters elevation on the upper Rio
Changuena, Bocas del Toro, The race is more common in eastern
Costa Rica, where in the low mountains in the north it crosses to the
head of the Pacific drainage.
The Veraguas specimens, while slightly intermediate, are placed
with capnitis.
Dr. A. M. Young (Condor, 1971, pp. 367-368) records an inter-
esting observation on sleeping habits made at Finca La Selva, on the
Caribbean slope of Costa Rica. From February 4 to May 30, 1970,
a male was found frequently at night “3.2 m. off the ground on a
horizontal branch of a leafy small dioecious tree. . . . This spotted
232 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
antbird roosted in the same tree on many evenings each month, and
for about 84 per cent of these evenings it was on the same branch.”
HYLOPHYLAX NAEVIOIDES NAEVIOIDES (Lafresnaye)
Conopophaga naevioides Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., vol. 10, March 1847, p. 69.
(Near Panama City, Panama.)
Characters.—Back somewhat lighter brown; sides and flanks paler
gray; subterminal black tip on tail slightly wider, with brown tip
averaging lighter, more buff; female more buffy on the under surface,
especially on the breast and flanks; averaging slightly smaller.
A male taken on Cerro Campana, Panama, March 5, 1951, had the
iris very dark brown; bill black ; tarsus, toes, and claws neutral gray.
Another, collected at Cafita, Panama, February 6, 1962, had the iris
dark reddish brown, but otherwise was similar.
A female taken with the male on Cerro Campana, had the iris,
tarsus, and toes similar to the male, but with the maxilla dull slaty
black and the mandible neutral gray. In another collected with the
male at Cafiita, the iris was dark wood brown; the maxilla and the
extreme tip of the mandible black, and the rest of the mandible pale
neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws as in the male.
Measurements——Males (10 from Province of Panama, Canal
Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 61.0-65.7 (63.0), tail 33.4-37.6
(35.1), culmen from base 16.9-18.7 (17.4), tarsus 21.9-22.9
(22.3) mm.
Females (10 from Province of Panama, Canal Zone, and Darién),
wing 60.0-63.8 (61.6), tail 31.7-34.9 (33.6), culmen from base
16.2-17.4 (16.9), tarsus 21.2-23.1 (22.3) mm.
An adult male collected near Gamboa, Canal Zone, August 8, 1968,
by R. S. Crossin weighed 18.0 grams. G. Child at Santa Fé, Darién,
March 30, 1963, recorded weights of a male as 14.9 and of two
females as 15.7 and 13.3 grams.
Resident. Locally common, on the Pacific slope in forested areas
in the Tropical Zone, from Cerro Campana, western Province of
Panama, and on the Caribbean side from western Colén to the
Colombian boundary in Darién and San Blas; to 850 meters on Cerro
Campana, 575 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna.
Reproduction in this species is reported as follows. Johnson
(Proc. Linn. Soc. New York, no. 63-65, March 1954, p. 56) recorded
display in late March in which the “‘male lowers the head and flattens
the back by spreading the shoulders and the tail slightly to expose the
white spots in the back and wings.’ Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 233
Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 261) quotes notes from L. L. Jewel
made in the Canal Zone on a nest (date not given) “found in fork
of a small bush in the forest about four feet [1.2 meters] from the
ground, a thin pensile cup containing two nearly feathered young.”
Gross (Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. for 1926, 1927, p. 339, fig. 9)
on Barro Colorado Island recorded incubation by both female and
male, with the latter singing on the nest. A photograph shows the
nest (with the male on it), a rather deep, thick-walled cup, suspended
from a forked branch. Eisenmann (Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 117,
no. 5, 1952, p. 36) on Barro Colorado Island, listed nests with eggs
found by Skutch April 18, May 7 and 16; by Gross July 16, and
July (with no day specified) ; and by Milne and Laughlin, June 24.
Nests were recorded by Skutch (Condor, 1946, pp. 19-21) as placed
low in undergrowth from 30 to 75 cm above the ground. The two
eggs were “heavily and rather uniformly mottled all over with umber
which covers half or more of the surface and is diffused into the
whitish ground cover.” One set measured 23.0X15.1 and 23.0
15.9 mm. Both male and female construct the nest and incubate the
eggs, alternating during the day, the female alone at night. Nestlings
“were black-skinned, blind and devoid of down.”
The nominate form was described by Lafresnaye from specimens
collected by Delattre but with no locality noted on the type specimen.
Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 3, 1924, p. 307) designated the type
locality as Panama. As Delattre is believed to have been in Panama
City it seems reasonable to restrict this to near Panama City, Panama.
While the bird may not occur near that point now due to expanding
human activities it was found there formerly. Three adult specimens
in the Museum of Comparative Zoology were taken there by
W. W. Brown, Jr., in May 1904.
Beyond Panama, the extensive series in the National Museum
demonstrates that the range of nominate naevioides extends across
northern Colombia from northern Choco through the Sinu and
middle Cauca and Magdalena valleys to the Hacienda Santana north
of Bucaramanga. The considerable series of these birds now available
demonstrates also that another proposed race subsimilis described by
Todd (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, 1917, p. 129) with
type locality Jaraquiel, Department of Cordoba (formerly part of the
Department of Bolivar), in the lower Sint Valley, south of Monteria,
may not be recognized. In a small series from the west coast in
central Chocé and the lower Rio San Juan, Valle, the females appear
234 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
somewhat darker, especially on the lower surface, than the average
in a long series from eastern Panama and northern Colombia.
PHAENOSTICTUS MCLEANNANI (Lawrence): Ocellated Ant-bird,
Hormiguero Manchado
FiGcureE 20
Size medium, tail long; reddish brown, heavily spotted with black,
bare skin of head bright blue.
Description —Length 185-205 mm. Side of head without feathers ;
tail long, culmen sharply ridged, nostril exposed. Adult (sexes
Figure 20.—Ocellated ant-bird, hormiguero manchado, Phaenostictus
mcleannant.
alike), crown and upper hindneck dark gray to brownish gray; a
narrow band of rufous-chestnut across lower hindneck ; upper surface
olive-brown to light rufous-brown, with feathers of back, wing
coverts, and tertials with large spots of black, each margined with
pale buff to cinnamon-buff; upper tail coverts black basally, tipped
with olive-brown to rufous-brown; primaries and secondaries dull
black, edged on outer webs with olive-brown to rufous-brown, tail
black, in fresh plumage the outer rectrices tipped narrowly with
white; side of head bare except for two small patches of black
feathers near the middle of the upper and lower eyelids; throat,
foreneck, and upper breast black; lower breast, sides, and abdomen
cinnamon-rufous, spotted with black, less heavily on lower abdomen ;
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 235
flanks olive-brown; under tail coverts black basally, tipped with pale
buff or cinnamon-buff; tibia subterminally black, tipped with buff.
Juvenile, side of head around eye more heavily feathered than in
adult; crown and upper hindneck black, tipped broadly with gray;
upper surface with buff edgings broader; breast feathers tipped
narrowly with black; lower abdomen plain olive-brown.
This strikingly patterned species is a bird of the forest under-
growth, seen most often over ant swarms in company with the Bi-
colored and Spotted Ant-birds, but in lesser number, usually only two
to four in company. It is identified immediately on sight from its
companions by larger size, slender form, darker color, and especially
the longer tail which is vibrated regularly up and down as the birds
move about. Usually they forage slightly higher in the undergrowth
than the smaller companion species, clinging sideways, with needle-
sharp claws, to erect stems and branches. They are timid and at any
alarm slip quietly away. Their chattering calls suggest the notes of
their companions, but in general they seem less vociferous.
This is another species in which the neck is slender in contrast to
the expanded diameter of the skull so that in preparing specimens
it is usually necessary to split the skin in order to free the head.
PHAENOSTICTUS MCLEANNANI SATURATUS (Richmond)
Phlegopsis saturata Richmond, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 18, August 12, 1896,
p. 65. (Rio Escondido, 80 kilometers above Bluefields, Nicaragua. )
Characters.—Darker, more reddish brown; crown and hindneck
darker, more brownish gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica), wing 89.5-96.3 (93.1), tail 78.9-88.6 (84.0), culmen
from base 22.8-25.4 (23.6), tarsus 30.7-33.3 (32.4) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica),
wing 84.5-90.1 (87.3), tail 73.7-81.9 (77.6), culmen from base
22.1-23.8 (22.8), tarsus 31.5-33.4 (32.2) mm.
Resident. Rare, in forested areas of western Bocas del Toro.
This form was first identified from Panama by James L. Peters
(Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 322) from a male col-
lected March 21, 1928, by Hasso von Wedel at 400 meters elevation
on the trail leading from Chiriqui Grande to Boquete. The National
Museum has a female taken at 730 meters on the headwaters of the
Rio Changuena, Bocas del Toro, by R. Hinds, September 21, 1961.
These are the only records to date. The race, a Caribbean form, is
known from eastern Nicaragua and eastern Costa Rica (with a slight
236 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
extension to the Pacific slope in the low northwestern mountains in
the latter country).
PHAENOSTICTUS MCLEANNANI MCLEANNANI (Lawrence)
Phlogopsis McLeannani Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1860, p. 285. (Lion Hill Station, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Phaenostictus macleannani [sic] chocoanus Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool., vol. 65, September 1922, p. 208. (Cerro Sapo, Darién.)
Characters—Lighter colored, slightly less reddish brown on the
body; crown and hindneck grayer, less brownish.
A male, taken at Armila, San Blas, February 26, 1963, had the
iris mouse brown; bare skin of side of head bright blue, with a dull
yellowish green line below the feathered spot on the lower eyelid;
bill black; tarsus brownish white shading to flesh color on toes and
claws.
Measurements——Males (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, Colon,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 90.3-94.2 (91.8), tail 81.7-90.5 (84.8),
culmen from base 21.5-24.8 (23.8), tarsus 32.0-33.9 (33.5) mm.
Females (10 from Colén, Canal Zone, Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 85.0-89.8 (87.4), tail 78.5-83.6 (81.5), culmen from
base 21.3-23.2 (22.3), tarsus 30.0-33.7 (31.9) mm.
Resident. Locally, fairly common in forests in the Tropical Zone,
on the Pacific slope from western Province of Panama, east through
Darién, and on the Caribbean side from northern Veraguas, through
the Canal Zone and the Comarca de San Blas to the Colombian
boundary.
Lawrence, in his original description of this bird, wrote “Habitat —
Isthmus of Panama” followed by mention of a second specimen, and
the remark that they “were obtained at a locality about equidistant
from both oceans.” Sclater and Salvin, in a later account with a
colored figure of the bird (Exotic Orn., pt. 2, 1867, p. 17, pl. 9)
wrote that ‘““Mr. McLeannan’s specimens were obtained in the dense
forest in the vicinity of his residence,” which indicates the old
Lion Hill station on the railroad now submerged in Gatun Lake as
the definite type locality.
The point farthest to the west at which the bird is known: with
certainty is the south face of Cerro Campana, in the western sector of
the Province of Panama, based on sight records. A specimen in the
American Museum of Natural History from near Chorrera, nearer
the Canal Zone, was collected by W. B. Richardson, November 6,
1910. The bird is fairly common from the Cerro Azul and Chepo
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 237
eastward. While a specimen in the British Museum ( Natural History)
recorded by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 145), taken
by Arcé, is labeled “‘Santiago de Veraguas” the locality is doubtful
as there is no other report from that area. Griscom received speci-
mens of this race, collected by Benson, from near the Rio Calovévora
on the Caribbean side so that it is probable that the Salvin specimen
may have been one of those secured by Arcé in his early work at
Santa Fé on the old trail to Calovévora. The birds are found rather
regularly on Barro Colorado Island in the northern Canal Zone;
Goldman collected specimens at Portobelo and on the slopes of
Cerro Bruja, eastern Colon, in 1911; and February 8, 1957, I secured
one of a pair at Mandinga, in western San Blas. At the eastern end
of San Blas from Permé to Puerto Obaldia there are numerous
records. From northwestern Colombia we have specimens from
northern Choco and the Sint Valley in the Department of Cordoba.
Older specimens of this race darken considerably with age which led
Bangs and Barbour in study of a collection made by Barbour in
Darien to name their recently taken birds, pale in color in com-
parison with older ones, as a separate race chocoanus. The series
now at hand demonstrates that this is not valid.
Little information is available as to life history other than observa-
tions of the activities of these birds over ant swarms in company
with the Bicolored and Spotted Ant-birds. Eisenmann (Smith-
sonian Misc. Coll., vol. 117, no. 5, 1952, p. 36) on Barro Colorado
Island noted under breeding “July 10, 1950, adults feeding stub-
tailed fledgling.” Two nearly grown young birds, both males, that I
collected on January 18, 1955, as they fed actively over a line of ants
were both still in juvenile dress, though with wings and tail fully de-
veloped and functional. I have seen no description of the nest and
eggs. Johnson (Proc. Linnaean Soc. New York, nos. 63-65, 1954,
pp. 45-60) also on Barro Colorado Island recorded them in pairs,
heard them singing frequently during March, and noted that one
member of a pair often fed the other. I have noted the song as a rapid
repetition of a soft note.
Stomachs that I have examined held remains of crickets, roaches,
and spiders.
PITTASOMA MICHLERI Cassin: Black-crowned Ant-pitta,
Merendero
A terrestrial species, one of the largest of the family, with plump
body and short tail; brown above with breast heavily barred with
black and white.
238 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description—Length 165-185 mm. Tail about as long as bill;
tarsus very long, about half as long as wing; a small bare area behind
eye. Adult male, crown and upper hindneck black; a chestnut band
across hindneck ; back, rump, and upper tail coverts olive-brown, with
the feathers of back edged with black, producing indistinct streaks ;
wings chestnut-brown; wing coverts with narrow spots of white or
buff, bordered with black; tertials with a terminal spot of buff; outer
webs of primaries cinnamon; lower margin of lores white mixed
with chestnut; feathers around eye white, more broadly on lower lid;
side of head chestnut, mixed somewhat with black, or in one race
wholly black; chin and throat black, mixed in greater or less amount
with narrow shaft lines or spots of white and chestnut; breast and
abdomen white, barred heavily with black; flanks light brown;
under tail coverts buff to tawny, with a circular subterminal line of
black ; under wing coverts dull olive-brown, with edge of wing and
distal under coverts dull white.
Immature (specimens in British Museum collected by McLeannan),
barring on lower surface reduced, especially on the center of the
breast, with a buffy wash on the sides and upper breast.
These are forest birds that live on the ground in dense under-
growth, where they keep carefully concealed. Probably they may be
present in greater number than is now known from the few occasions
when one is seen. It is certain that their total population has been
reduced decidedly through forest clearing.
As a species this ant-pitta is found from eastern Costa Rica
through Panama (mainly from the Canal Zone eastward) to extreme
northern Chocd, in northwestern Colombia. Two races, differing
in depth of color, have been recognized.
PITTASOMA MICHLERI ZELEDONI Ridgway
Pittasoma michleri zeledoni Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6, April 11,
1884, p. 414. (Rio Sucio, Heredia, Costa Rica.)
Characters —Somewhat darker, more rufous above; side of head,
including the rictal area, black, only the ear coverts brown.
Measurements.—Males (6 from Bocas del Toro and Costa Rica),
wing 96.2-103.9 (100.5), tail 32.4-35.5 (33.3), culmen from base
29.7-32.3 (31.4, average of 5), tarsus 48.2-52.0 (50.1) mm.
Females (3 from Bocas del Toro and Costa Rica), wing 94.1-98.8
(95.1), tail 30.7-35.2 (32.2), culmen from base 30.2-32.0 (30.8),
tarsus 48.8-51.1 (50.2) mm.
Resident. Rare in the heavy forests of western Bocas del Toro.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 239
Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 322) recorded male
and female taken at Almirante, November 1, 1928, by H. von Wedel.
The National Museum has a male presented by the Gorgas Laboratory
of Tropical Medicine collected September 11, 1961, on the upper
Rio Changuena by R. Hinds. These three birds are somewhat inter-
mediate toward michleri, especially in chestnut mixed with the black
in the cheeks, but are definitely darker.
The subspecies is little known. M. A. Carriker, Jr. (Ann. Carnegie
Museum, vol. 6, 1910, pp. 626-627), collected a male and two fe-
males on the lower Rio Sixaola, Costa Rica in September and October
1904. He wrote “the alarm note is loud and harsh, of a very peculiar
tone. . . . It is very shy, and not entirely terrestrial, as I have seen
it perched on low limbs at least six feet from the ground.”
PITTASOMA MICHLERI MICHLERI Cassin
Pittasoma Michleri Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 14, 1860,
p. 189. (Rio Truando, Choco, Colombia. )
Characters.—Somewhat paler rufescent color on back and wings;
side of head below eye rufous with little or no black; throat with
lines or spots of white ; slightly smaller.
A male, collected at Armila, San Blas, February 21, 1963, had the
iris dark brown; mandible and cutting edge of maxilla, expanding
anteriorly to include all of tip, ivory-white; rest of maxilla black;
tarsus and toes neutral gray; claws light mouse brown, whiter on
under surface; inside of mouth including tip of tongue, and inner
surface of maxilla and mandible black; rest of tongue and posterior
area of mouth dull orange-yellow.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 92.3-99.8 (96.8), tail 31.5-36.3 (33.0),
culmen from base 28.9-31.7 (30.4), tarsus 48.7-54.2 (52.0) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama, and San
Blas), wing 93.4-99.4 (95.6), tail 32.0-35.0 (33.2), culmen from
base 27.2-30.8 (29.1, average of 9), tarsus 48.1-52.2 (50.3) mm.
Weight, ¥ 99 grams (G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Local, in small number, in heavy forest in the Tropical
Zone, on the Pacific side from Santa Fé, Veraguas; Cerro Campana,
and Cerro Azul, east through Darién; on the Caribbean side from
Calovévora, northern Veraguas; Cascajal, northern Coclé; and the
Canal Zone, east through San Blas.
These large ant-pittas live in the undergrowth in heavy forest,
mainly on the ground, but occasionally higher when curious regard-
240 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ing an intruder or in feeding into the lower branches. They have
been seen near ant swarms, but keep carefully under cover so that
usually their presence is known from their chattering calls, as only
rarely may one be seen. It is certain that they are now reduced in
number in many areas due to forest destruction.
The first report for Veraguas is that of Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1867, p. 146) of two specimens labeled Santa Fé (on the
Pacific slope), collected by Arcé. The second record, also by Salvin
(idem, 1870, p. 196), lists one from Calovévora on the Caribbean side,
beyond Santa Fé, taken also by Arcé. Two males and two females in
the American Museum of Natural History were collected by Benson
at Santa Fé in March and April 1925, at elevations of 550 to 760
meters. Another specimen was captured in a mist net on Cerro
Campana, November 2, 1966, by G. V. N. Powell. W. M. Perrygo
and I collected one on the Quebrada Carriaso on the south face of
Cerro Azul on April 25, 1949. One received from the Biological
Survey is from the Rio Bayano, 15 kilometers above the mouth of the
Rio Mamoni, taken January 20, 1914, by H. B. Johnson. Eastward
these birds are fairly common. In March 1950, at Quebrada Cauchero,
on Cerro Chucanti, and at Charco del Toro, on the Rio Majé, we col-
lected four females. In Darién the bird was found by Festa in August
1895, at the Laguna de Pita on the lower Rio Tuira. On Cerro Sapo
specimens were taken in 1922 by Barbour, and in 1941 by the Vander-
bilt expedition. We collected or recorded several on the Rio Jaqué in
April 1947,
Early records for the Caribbean side include Cascajal, northern
Coclé, February 27, 1889, by Heyde and Lux, and in the Canal Zone,
those of McLeannan, with later reports from Goldman, Jewel, and
others. Single individuals have been seen from time to time by Willis
and Karr near Gamboa. In eastern San Blas the species has been
more common, as von Wedel secured several at Puerto Obaldia and
Permeé ; and I collected one near Armila.
April 14, 1947, on the upper Rio Jaqué, as I followed a hunting
trail in heavy forest, one of these birds appeared suddenly on the
ground only 3 or 4 meters distant, and ran, scolding with chattering
calls, through the heavy undergrowth. I followed it slowly for nearly
a quarter of an hour while it called regularly but always remained
hidden. Finally, its calls ceased and I returned to the original point
to continue along the trail. Then, by chance, as I looked about, the
reason for the actions described became evident as in the crown of a
low tagua palm I saw a large cup-shaped nest with two beautiful
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 241
eggs. Though we watched for half an hour the bird did not return.
The base of the nest was a thin bed of weathered leaves. On these a
thin-walled cup of fine dark-colored rootlets had been woven. The
elevation of the nest was a little over a meter from the ground. The
two eggs, with incubation begun, are pale, somewhat pinkish buff,
one slightly darker than the other. The large end in each is marked
heavily with chocolate and chocolate-brown blotches that form a cap.
Tiny dots and a few larger markings tending to gray or purple are
scattered sparingly over the rest of the surface. In form the eggs
are between elliptical and oval. They measure 31.3X23.5, and
32.2 x 23.0 mm. The cup of the nest had an inside diameter of ap-
proximately 90 mm.
In eastern San Blas, country men called this bird the Merendero.
The type specimen, one of the birds secured during a survey for
a ship canal through Darién, according to its label, was collected
by Arthur C. V. Schott (not William S. and Charles J. Wood, as
stated in the original description). Cassin, who referred to it as “the
most remarkable bird in the collection,’ named it in “honor of the
commanding officer of the expedition, Lieut. N. Michler, of the
U.S. Topographical Engineers.”’
GRALLARICULA FLAVIROSTRIS (Sclater): Ochraceous Pygmy
Ant-pitta, Ponchito Ocroso
Grallaria flavirostris P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 24, April 26,
1858, p. 68. (Rio Napo, Ecuador.) .
Very small; with short tail and long legs; grayish brown above,
with yellow breast.
Description—Length 95-110 mm. Rictal bristles half as long as
bill. Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck grayish olive, with
forehead more or less dull rufous ; back, scapulars, and rump brownish
olive; upper tail coverts somewhat paler; wings and tail brownish;
outer web of outer feather of alula ochraceous-buff; one or more of
the wing coverts tipped indistinctly with tawny or rufescent brown;
lores ochraceous, with an indistinct black or dusky line in central area ;
eye-rings ochraceous; rest of side of head mixed ochraceous and
dusky; chin, throat, malar region, upper breast, sides, and flanks,
tawny to ochraceous, the breast usually with a few indistinct edgings
of dull black: feathers of lower foreneck white basally, this some-
times showing as a spot of white; abdomen and center of lower
breast white; under tail coverts pale buff; under wing coverts and
the carpal edge of the wing ochraceous; anterior under coverts, in
242 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
some, dusky ; inner wing feathers edged on inner web with cinnamon-
buff.
Immature, with feathers of breast more heavily edged with dusky,
producing more definite lines than in the adult.
As a species this small ant-pitta is found from Costa Rica and
Panama to northern South America where it is known in the Andes
from Colombia south to Bolivia. Two of the eight subspecies cur-
rently recognized are found in the Republic of Panama. These birds
are poorly known, with very little recorded concerning them.
GRALLARICULA FLAVIROSTRIS COSTARICENSIS Lawrence
Grallaricula Costaricensis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1866, p. 346. (Barranca, slopes of Volcan Pods, Costa Rica.)
Grallaricula vegeta Bangs, Proc. New England Zodél. Club, vol. 3, January 30,
1902, p. 42. (1220 meters elevation, Bocas del Toro.)
Characters.——Upper surface faintly grayer, with the crown nearly
uniform in shade with the back; bill averaging very slightly smaller.
Measurements—Males (5 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Costa
Rica), wing 62.8-65.5 (64.1), tail 20.8-23.6 (22.4), culmen from
base 14.9-15.6 (15.2), tarsus 20.8-22.0 (21.5) mm.
Females (7 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica), wing
62.3-65.3 (63.7), tail 21.5-26.5 (24.1), culmen from base 14.6-16.7
(15.5), tarsus 21.1-23.4 (22.0, average of 6) mm.
Resident. Known from a few records in the mountains of Chiriqui
and Bocas del Toro, ranging east to Chitra and Calovévora, Veraguas.
The first record for Panama is a male from the Cordillera de Tolé
taken by Enrique Arcé in 1866, now in the British Museum. Salvin
in his second paper on Arcé’s specimens (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1870, p. 196) listed another from Chitra. This latter bird is not
present now in the Salvin-Godman collection in London. I have seen
the one from Calovévora, now catalog number 16427 in the Natur-
historische Museum in Vienna. This bird, formerly mounted for
display, now in poor condition with the bill broken, is labeled “Q,
Calovévora, Veragua, 1869, Arcé.’”’ W. W. Brown, Jr., collected a
female at 1220 meters on the Caribbean slope in Bocas del Toro on the
trail from Boquete to Chiriqui Grande. A male in the U.S. National
Museum was collected for Dr. Frank Hartman at 1375 meters near
El Volcan, Chiriqui, February 22, 1949. Another, a female, was
taken at 650 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, September 12,
1961, by R. Hinds of the Gorgas Laboratory.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 243
GRALLARICULA FLAVIROSTRIS BREVIS Nelson
Grallaricula flavirostris brevis Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3,
September 24 (27), 1912, p. 12. (Cerro Pirre, 1275 meters, head of Rio Limon,
Darién. )
Characters—Upper surface slightly browner, with the crown
faintly grayer than the back; bill a very little larger.
Measurements—Males (3 from Darién), wing 62.5-64.1 (63.1),
tail 23.8-24.3 (24.0), culmen from base 15.7-16.0 (15.9), tarsus
21.0-22.7 (21.9) mm.
Females (3 from Darién), wing 61.5-64.2 (62.6), tail 24.3-25.6
(24.9, average of 2), culmen from base 15.7-15.9 (15.8), tarsus
21.5-23.5 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Found on the higher elevations of Cerro Pirre, Dariێn.
This is known from two males and two females taken by E. A.
Goldman, April 23, May 1 and 6, 1912, from 1375 to 1580 meters
elevation. The collector noted only that the first one on April 23 was
“shot among the undergrowth in heavy forest.”
The race is closely similar to G. f. costaricensts.
GRALLARIA GUATIMALENSIS Prévost and Des Murs: Scaled
Ant-pitta, Hormiguero Escamoso
Grallaria guatimalensis Prévost and Des Murs, Zool. Voy. Venus, Atlas, livr.
1, “1846” (= 1842), pl. 4. (Guatemala. )
A terrestrial species of the forest floor, with heavy body, long legs,
and short tail ; dark above, rufescent below.
Description —Length 162-175 mm. Adult, sexes alike, crown and
hindneck slate to slate-gray, browner on the forehead, the feathers
edged with black; back, scapulars and rump olive, the feathers of
back and scapulars bordered by black; upper tail coverts and tail
russet-brown; wings olive, with primaries, secondaries, and wing
coverts more or less russet on the outer webs; a few of the coverts
tipped with buff and edged with chestnut; a narrow line of white on
back of upper eyelid; lores dull buff to pale gray, lined somewhat with
white ; side of head behind eye dark, often blackish olive, with dull
white shaft lines; rictal area dull white to tawny; chin and upper
foreneck olive-brown, washed with tawny, mixed in some with dusky ;
feathers of the lower foreneck usually white basally showing as an
obscure spot; rest of lower surface tawny to tawny-ochraceous,
darker on sides and under tail coverts; under wing coverts and
inner margins of wings tawny-ochraceous.
244 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Immature, crown and hindneck dull slate color lined with buff;
paler below with streaks broader; wing coverts tipped more heavily
with tawny. This is one of the medium-sized species of its genus,
found widely mainly in Subtropical and upper Tropical Zone forests
from south-central México through Central America to Pert and
northern Brazil, including the island of Trinidad. The bird has varied
considerably in its adaptation to change in environment, so that cur-
rently eight geographic races are recognized. Two of these are found
in Panama, one in the west, the other through the mountains east of
the central lowlands.
Recent studies of the short-tailed, long-legged terrestrial ant-pittas
placed currently in the genus Grallaria indicate important differences
that appear to be of generic value. The findings have application in
the three species found in Panama, namely guatimalensis, fulviventris,
and perspicillata, The distinctions were noted early by Ridgway
(U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, pp. 17-18, 146-147, 152-153)
when he listed guatimalensis under the genus Grallaria from its
possession of rictal bristles, form of the nostril and other details,
and removed fulviventris (with dives) and perspicillata to a genus
Hylopezus, in which rictal bristles are lacking, the nostril form is
distinct and there is difference in other details.
Recently Mary A. Heimerdinger and Peter Ames (Postilla,
Peabody Mus. no. 105, 1967, pp. 1-44) in a review of the form of
the posterior border of the sternum in these and other suboscine
birds, confirmed Ridgway’s findings in the “Grallaria” group, with
additional characters. Thus the species guatimalensis has two notches,
one on either side, on the posterior border of the sternum while
fulviventris and perspicillata have four. The subject has been re-
viewed recently by George H. Lowery, Jr., and John P. O’Neill
(Auk, 1969, pp. 9-12) with agreement in these and other details.
While full information for all of the species involved is not yet avail-
able, what is definitely known is that under these findings the generic
designations for the forms that range in Panama are Grallaria
guatimalensins with two races princeps and chocoensis, Hylopezus
fulvientris with its forms dives and barbacoae, and Hylopezus
perspicillatus with three subspecies lizanoi, intermedius, and perspicil-
latus. In these the genus name Hylopezus replaces Grallaria (as
found in other writings on these birds: Hellmayr, Cat. Birds Amer.,
pt. 3, 1924, pp. 351-355; Peters, Check-list Birds World, vol. 7,
1951, pp. 271-273).
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 245
GRALLARIA GUATIMALENSIS PRINCEPS Sclater and Salvin
Grallaria princeps Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, October 1869,
p. 418. (Calovévora, Veraguas, Panama. )
Characters—More rufous; adult with breast rufous with few
streaks or none; hindneck lighter gray ; back and wings more reddish
brown.
In a male in the British Museum (Natural History), collected by
C. H. Lankester at Cachi, Costa Rica, the label records the iris as
“dark brown; bill dusky horn, fleshy at base; feet fleshy leaden.”
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and
Costa Rica), wing 109.8-113.2 (111.5), tail 35.0-41.5 (38.6), culmen
from base 26.7—30.8 (28.8), tarsus 44.4-52.0 (48.8) mm.
Females (8 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica), wing
109.8-113.2 (111.5), tail 35.0-41.5 (38.6), culmen from base 26.7—
30.8 (28.8) mm.
Resident. Found in small number in the Subtropical Zone from
western Chiriqui and western Bocas del Toro to north-central
Veraguas.
This form was first recorded by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1867, p. 146) from a specimen collected by Arcé labeled “Santa Fe,”
listed in this account as G. guatemalensis. When a second specimen,
a bird in more adult stage of plumage, came from Arcé two years
later Sclater and Salvin described the bird of Panama (idem, 1869,
p. 498) as Grallaria princeps. A third specimen from Arcé was re-
ported by Salvin (idem. 1870, p. 196) as from “V. de Chiriqui.”
In the original description Sclater and Salvin for the locality list
the bird as “Hab. in Veragua (Arcé).” Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit.
Mus., vol. 15, 1890, p. 314) lists the two specimens from Santa Fé
and Calovévora as “Types of the species.” Salvin and Godman
(Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1892, p. 242) included a description
of princeps (in Latin) and at the end say (still in Latin) “Descr.
exempl. ex Calovevora, Panama. Mus. nostr.” This is accepted as
the restricted type locality, and the specimen from Calovévora, a
female, is to be regarded as the holotype. As one further comment,
the original description in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society
of London has the date ‘‘June 10, 1869” at the head of the page, but
according to records of Charles W. Richmond the actual date of
publication was in October. It may be noted also that Salvin (Ibis,
July 1869, p. 312) in a paper discussing published records by George
N. Lawrence wrote in a footnote “it may be remarked that Grallaria
guatemalensis is G. princeps Scl. & Salv.” While this appears to be
246 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the first publication of the name princeps it is here a nomen nudum.
W. W. Brown, Jr., collecting for Outram Bangs, secured five speci-
mens from April to June 1901 near Boquete and to 3000 meters on
the higher slopes of the great volcano. Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 32) recorded a male taken by Wedel at 1065
meters in Bocas del Toro on the trail from Chiriqui Grande to
Boquete, March 29, 1928. Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958,
p. 533) listed three in the Monniche collection from about 1650 to
1735 meters near Lérida and Velo above Boquete. We have a male
received from the Gorgas Laboratory, collected by R. Hinds at
730 meters on the upper Rio Changuena, in Bocas del Toro, Sep-
tember 23, 1961.
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 223) in
Costa Rica reported it as ranging primarily on the Caribbean slope
but crossing the divide to the Pacific side in the northwestern moun-
tains from Tenorio to Rincon de la Vieja. The bird is described
as primarily terrestrial “though when disturbed it may fly to a log or
a low branch.”
Rowley (West. Found. Vert. Zool., vol. 1, no. 3, 1966, pp. 160-
161) described the nest of a northern paler colored race G. g. och-
raceiventris, found at La Cima, Oaxaca, June 2, 1965, as “‘placed on
a large fallen rotting trunk of a moss covered tree around which
thick undergrowth was growing’? by which it was well concealed.
The “nest was composed of a large quantity of wet leaves. . . . The
cup was lined with bits of moss and fine rootlets and had small twigs
interspaced with the softer materials. The two eggs... were
amazingly large for the size of the female. They were very much
rounded in shape; unspotted deep robin-egg blue in color, and
measured 33.1 26.0 and 31.6X25.9 mm.” In an accompanying
photograph the eggs appear elliptical in form.
Of the related form Grallaria g. guatimalensis Edwards and Lea
(Condor, 1955, pp. 45-46, fig. 7) report that a nest found August 9,
1950, on the Hacienda Monserrate, Chiapas, was on a nearly hori-
zontal log that had fallen near a small stream. The nest was cup-
shaped, composed of small sticks, dry pine needles, moss, and dead
leaves. The outside diameter was 165-190 mm; inside diameter
100 to 115 mm; depth of cup 50-75 mm. It held one “pale blue,
blunt ended slightly glossy egg.” The female when collected had a
“shelled egg in the oviduct, which was pale dull blue and measured
26x 35 mm.”
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 247
GRALLARIA GUATIMALENSIS CHOCOENSIS Chapman
Grallaria guatimalensis chocoensis Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol.
36, 1917, p. 394. (Serrania de Baudd, Choco, Colombia. )
Characters.—Darker on upper surface, foreneck, and breast, the
latter streaked with cinnamon-buff; white on bases of feathers on
center of upper foreneck in some extended to tips of the feathers
to form a small white spot.
A male taken on Cerro Mali, Darién, March 3, 1964, had the iris
dark wood brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of
mandible dull dark neutral gray, with a faint greenish cast; crus,
tarsus, and toes bluish neutral gray; claws brownish neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (3 from Darién), wing 103.8-112.6
(108.8), tail 36.9-41.1 (38.1), culmen from base 26.7-28.0 (27.5),
tarsus 43.8-50.6 (47.6) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the forests of Cerro Tacarcuna, its spur
Cerro Mali, and Cerro Pirre.
This dark form of the species was described by Frank M. Chapman
from a male collected by Mrs. E. L. Kerr, July 13, 1912, on the
higher slopes of the Serrania de Baudo in central Choco. Griscom
recorded it from Darién from a male taken by Benson, March 17,
1928, near Cana on Cerro Pirre.
As noted above, I secured a male near our camp at 1430 meters
on Cerro Mali. Another, preserved in alcohol, had been caught there
earlier on February 5 by C. O. Handley, Jr. March 5 I collected
another near the lower camp at 575 meters at the old village site on
the Rio Tacarcuna. The latter was found on a sloping hillside
heavily grown with forest. In preparing it I noted that in the dorsal
pterylosis the elongate rhomboid was solid in the center, with no
break or apterion. A narrow line of feathers extended from its lower
end to the base of the tail. It is in this unlike what is found in such
typical Formicariids as Thamnophilus.
The stomach in the two that I have prepared was strong and
muscular. One was filled with fragments of medium-sized beetles,
the other with bits of a millipede.
Alden H. Miller (Univ. Cal. Publ. Zool., vol. 66, 1963, p. 25)
described a nest of the related subspecies G. g. regulus, found in
late April near San Antonio, Valle, Colombia, as a “large pile of
soft dead sticks . . . mixed with rotting black leaves. It was sup-
ported on . . . branches of a fallen understory shrub” in tall forest
where there was a break in the canopy overhead. The main part of
248 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the nest was about 145 mm broad and the same in depth, with the
base about 300 mm across. The inner cup measured 90 mm across
by 50 mm deep. The nest contained two young, probably 3 or
4 days old. “They had black down, rather heavy for a passerine, and
the skin was black, matching the black nest material. The mouth and
gape were orange-yellow.”’
The three specimens from Panama agree in darker coloration with
the type of chocoensis. The type, however, the only one recorded
from Colombia, with the wing 93.5, tail 28.2, culmen from base 24.1,
and tarsus 50.6 mm, except in tarsal length is smaller. Assignment
of the three from Panama is tentative, based on color, as possibly
they may represent a distinct larger race.
HYLOPEZUS FULVIVENTRIS (Sclater): Fulvous-bellied Ant-pitta,
Hormiguero Vientrileonado
Grallaria fulviventris P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28, April 26,
1858, p. 68. (Rio Napo, Ecuador.)
Rather small, of typical ant-pitta form; dark above, white below
with buff or rufous breast streaked lightly with black.
Description —Length 125-150 mm; without rictal bristles. Adult
(sexes alike), crown and hindneck dull slate with the feathers
bordered narrowly with black; lores and ring around eye cinnamon-
buff ; side of head below and behind eye dull buff ; blackish to brownish
olive above; outer webs of primaries chestnut; lower surface white,
except the breast, which is buff to cinnamon, lined narrowly with
dull black; sides, flanks, under tail coverts, and tibiae rufous; edge
of wing and under wing coverts cinnamon; inner webs of wing
feathers edged with cinnamon-buff.
As a species these birds are found on the Caribbean slope from
southeastern Honduras and eastern Nicaragua through Costa Rica
and western Panama. They appear again in the eastern mountains
of the Republic, and continue in South America through western
Colombia to eastern Ecuador. In this area five geographic races have
been recognized, two of them found in Panama. They are little known
inhabitants of undergrowth in forests of the Tropical Zone.
HYLOPEZUS FULVIVENTRIS DIVES (Salvin)
Grallaria dives Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864 (February 1865), p. 582.
(Tucurrique, Costa Rica.)
Hylopezus fulviventris flammulata Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 293, January
12, 1928, p. 4. (Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panama. )
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 249
Characters.—Darker, blacker above on back and wings; crown and
hindneck gray, with the feathers margined indistinctly with dusky ;
brown of under surface darker, more rufous-chestnut.
Measurements.—Males (4 from Nicaragua and Bocas del Toro),
wing 75.5-81.6 (78.7), tail 28.5-31.4 (29.5), culmen from base 21.0—
21.2 (21.1), tarsus 36.8-37.5 (37.2) mm.
Female (1 from Costa Rica), wing 74.4, tail 25.6, culmen from
base 20.6, tarsus 37.4 mm.
Resident. Recorded from western Bocas del Toro.
Benson collected two males near Almirante in 1927, one taken
May 16. Griscom described these as a separate form that he believed
to differ from the population of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in faintly
darker color above and darker chestnut below, with heavier black
lines on the breast. The distinction does not seem justified from the
limited material examined. The U.S. National Museum has a male,
received from the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory taken June 22, 1962,
at Almirante.
HYLOPEZUS FULVIVENTRIS BARBACOAE (Chapman)
Hylopezus dives barbacoae Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 33,
November 21, 1914, p. 617. (Barbacoas, Narifio, Colombia. )
Characters—More brownish olive above; brown of flanks and
under tail coverts brighter, more rufous; breast cinnamon-buff.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién and western Colombia),
wing 74.1-79.5 (76.7), tail 28.5-33.5 (30.5), culmen from base
20.0-22.6 (21.0), tarsus 35.3-40.0 (37.8) mm.
Females (2 from Choco and Narifio, western Colombia), wing
716-731 (72.3), tail 26.1-28:0 (27.0), culmen: from base 20.2
(1 only), tarsus 32.0-37.4 (34.7) mm.
Resident. Rare in the forests of Darien.
Benson, March 19, 1928, secured a male on Cerro Pirre, as re-
corded by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 169).
Another, in the American Museum of Natural History, was taken by
Anthony and Ball at the Tacarcuna base camp, March 14, 1915. These
are the only known records at present for Panama.
This race apparently is more common in northwestern Colombia
where M. A. Carriker, Jr., collected a small series in 1949 and 1950.
At Quebrada Salvajin, Cordoba, on the Rio Sinu, where he found it
in the same forests as Hylopezus perspicillatus pallidior, he noted that
the calls of the two were similar, except that the note of barbacoae
was faintly weaker.
250 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
HYLOPEZUS PERSPICILLATUS (Lawrence): Spectacled Ant-pitta,
Hormiguero de Anteojos
Ficure 21
Rather small, with heavy body, short tail and long legs; breast
and sides conspicuously streaked.
Description.—Rictal bristles absent; nasal fossae narrow, with
nostrils elongate. Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck slate
color; forehead slightly olive, in some with indefinite shaft streaks
of rufous; rest of upper surface olive or brownish olive; back and
scapulars with elongate spots of buff, edged and tipped narrowly
1) Yh,
WM ian f
y ) Why
Wy
hy SD)
Wb
os
Py,
me
ie
Figure 21.—Spectacled ant-pitta, hormiguero de anteojos, Hylopesus
perspicillatus.
with black; the markings often reduced in size and number, and re-
stricted to the scapulars; wings browner, with wing coverts spotted
heavily with buff or ochraceous; outer web of alula buff; primaries
and tail feathers edged with cinnamon-buff ; lores and a conspicuous
eye-ring buff to ochraceous-buff; auricular region with shaft lines
of buff to ochraceous-buff; a black line on malar region; foreneck
and abdomen white; upper breast buff to cinnamon-buff, heavily
streaked with black, these streaks continuing on sides; sides, flanks,
and under tail coverts pale buff to cinnamon-buff ; under wing coverts
and inner webs of primaries ochraceous-buff, with some black
streaks near carpal edge.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 251
Like related species these birds are inhabitants of undergrowth
in forests, ranging from the lowlands to the upper Tropical Zone.
They are more common in Panama than their close relatives, so
that though shy and retiring they are more frequently seen. The
species is one that has more than usual local variation with five fairly
well-marked races recognized, three of them found in the Republic.
The eggs of this species (as described beyond under H. p. lizanoz)
are heavily spotted. In this they resemble Pittasoma muichleri, and
differ from typical Grallaria, in which the eggs are bluish green
without markings, so far as they are known.
HYLOPEZUS PERSPICILLATUS LIZANOI (Cherrie)
Grallaria lizanot Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, September 4, 1891, p.
342. (Las Trojas de Puntarenas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Flanks and breast pale buff; black streaks on breast
and sides averaging very slightly narrower; back somewhat more
greenish olive; crown lighter gray; wing markings darker rufous,
as in the race intermedia.
Measurements —Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
77.6-82.5 (80.6), tail 27.5-33.3 (30.3), culmen from base 20.3-22.0
(21.0), tarsus 34.0-38.1 (36.3) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 78.8-81.5
(80.1), tail 27.4-37.3 (30.7), culmen from base 20.8-22.8 (21.6),
tarsus 33.9-36.5 (34.9) mm.
Resident. Found locally on the Pacific slope from southwestern
Costa Rica to Chiriqui.
Early specimens from Panama were collected by Arcé at Mina de
Chorcha near David, and on the southern slopes of the great volcano.
Others were found later at Divala by W. W. Brown, Jr., who col-
lected four there from October to December 1900 (Bangs, Auk,
1901, p. 367). The National Museum has a female taken by Dr.
Frank A. Hartman at 1250 meters elevation near Santa Clara,
Chiriqui, midway between El Volcan and the Costa Rican boundary.
In the American Museum there is a male from Bugaba collected
by H. J. Watson, November 3, 1903.
In the British Museum (Natural History) I have examined a set
of two eggs, identified as of this race, collected at Pozo Azul de
Pirris, Costa Rica, June 18, 1902, by C. F. Underwood. The ground
color is pale olive-buff, heavily blotched and spotted with chocolate
and dull cinnamon so that much of the underlying basal color is
concealed. The markings in the main have indistinct outlines. In
252 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
form the eggs are subelliptical with the measurements 26.3 x 20.2 and
25.7 X 20.0 mm.
In a detailed account of this race in southwestern Costa Rica,
Alexander Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 271-274)
described their nests as placed in heavy forest in a tangle of vines or a
bush from half a meter to a little over a meter and a half from the
ground. Two examined were merely small platforms of twigs and
dried leaves, with a leafy depression in the top for the eggs. A third
was a thin-walled cup, built apparently by another passerine of
medium size, and abandoned. The ant-pitta had placed a few leaves
for a lining and then used it for its own eggs. Both parents incubate ;
in one instance one on the nest “apparently the male sang repeatedly,
while covering the eggs.” Two eggs formed the set, in color “light
gray, heavily and coarsely mottled with dark brown, which almost
obscured the ground color on the thick end of some.” In one nest the
eggs measured 26.2 x 20.6 and 27.0X 21.4 mm. One egg in another
measured 26.2 20.6 mm. The young at hatching have no trace of
down on the dark skin.
George K. Cherrie when he described this bird was employed
as taxidermist and ornithologist in the Museo Nacional of Costa Rica.
He named it for Don Joaquin Lizano, Minister of State of the
Republic of Costa Rica (born in Heredia, Costa Rica, in 1823, died
May 28, 1901), “to whom so much is due for the material advance-
ment and intelligent progress of various institutions of the country,
including especially the Museo Nacional.”
HYLOPEZUS PERSPICILLATUS INTERMEDIUS (Ridgway)
Grallaria intermedia Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6, April 26, 1884,
p. 406. (Angostura, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Lower sides and flanks bright buff to rufous; breast
band distinctly buff, with heavy black streaks; back olive with few
or no buff streaks; crown very dark gray; wing markings darker,
more rufous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Nicaragua and Costa Rica), wing
78.5-84.8 (81.6), tail 22.4-30.5 (27.5), culmen from base 19.8-22.5
(21.2), tarsus 35.2-37.3 (36.0) mm.
Females (10 from Nicaragua and Costa Rica), wing 78.1-83.5
(80.4), tail 20.2-27.9 (25.5, average of 9), culmen from base 20.0-
22.3 (21.2), tarsus 35.3-37.7 (36.3) mm.
Resident.—Found locally on the Caribbean slope in western Bocas
del Toro.
FAMILY FORMICARIIDAE 253
The only record at present is that of Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 323) of a male taken by H. von Wedel at
Cricamola near the western end of the Laguna de Chiriqui, Bocas del
Toro, August 19, 1928.
The rufous sides and flanks make this the most brightly colored
race of the species. In Costa Rica, Slud (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 128, 1964, p. 224) remarks of this shy bird that each individual
or pair appears to have a “restricted forest area in which it roams
about . . . It flies only when frightened, and then not far, in a low
fluttering dash; usually it strikes an immobile pose or simply walks
away quietly. . . . Ordinarily it progresses in rapid hops . . . but
it may also patter delicately and come to sudden stops like a little
plover.”
HYLOPEZUS PERSPICILLATUS PERSPICILLATUS (Lawrence)
Grallaria perspicillata Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1861, p. 303.
(Atlantic slope near the Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama. )
Characters—Paler throughout than the other two forms found
in Panama. Flanks grayish buff; back in most narrowly but definitely
streaked with buff (in some these marks reduced or lacking) ; crown
and hindneck paler gray; wing markings paler; breast band very
pale buff.
A male, taken on the upper Rio Guabal, Coclé, February 27, 1962,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla dull black ; tip and sides of mandible
fuscous-black ; lower half of mandibular rami and basal half of gonys
dull buffy white; crus and front of tarsus brownish neutral gray ; sides
and back of tarsus brownish gray ; toes neutral gray ; claws dull ivory-
white.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, Colon, Darién,
and San Blas), wing 77.9-82.2 (79.6), tail 26.1-30.2 (28.0), culmen
from base 19.2-22.8 (20.9), tarsus 34.2-36.8 (35.7) mm.
Females (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, Colon, Panama, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 76.1-83.4 (79.9), tail 24.0-31.2 (27.7), culmen from
base 19.8-21.9 (20.8), tarsus 33.8-39.6 (36.4) mm.
Resident. Found locally on both slopes from southern and northern
Veraguas through Darién and San Blas; to 900 meters elevation at
La Laguna on Cerro Tacarcuna.
Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 146) listed this bird from
Santiago and Santa Fé from the first collections received from Arcé.
The American Museum of Natural History has male and female,
taken by Benson at Santa Fé, March 20, 1925. The National Museum
254 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
has two collected by Heyde and Lux on May 28 and June 8, 1889
labeled from Nata, Coclé, and there is a female in the American
Museum taken by these collectors at Capira, Panama, April 7, 1888.
These are the only records on the Pacific side west of the Canal Zone.
As this western area was forested—in part at least—in the early
period, the reports are possible. On the Caribbean slope the bird
is known from the Rio Calovévora in northern Veraguas, and from
the head of the Rio Guabal, in the upper drainage of the Rio Coclé del
Norte in northern Coclé. It is fairly common through the northern
Canal Zone, including Barro Colorado Island. Wedel collected several
at Permé and Puerto Obaldia, and I recorded others at Armila in
eastern San Blas.
Though this shy forest bird is a terrestrial species that walks or
hops about under low undergrowth, it also flies up to perch on open
branches usually only a meter or so above the ground, but occasionally
in heavily shaded forest it flies as high as 9 or 10 meters. The song
is a series of clear, whistled notes, rising slightly in pitch and then
descending.
In the original description Lawrence listed his type as from “New
Granada, Isthmus of Panama,” but in a later supplementary note (in
the same reference, p. 326) he indicated that it was taken by
McLeannan and Galbraith on the Atlantic slope, near the railroad,
which fixes the type locality as on the northern side of the Canal Zone.
Nests have been found in the Navy Pipeline area near Gamboa
by J. R. Karr from April to July, and by Ridgely in July.
Family RHINOCRYPTIDAE: Tapaculos, Tapaculos
The species in this family in the main are birds of South America,
where their principal diversity is found in the southern third of the
continent. Currently, 26 species are recognized divided among 11
genera. Some have the size of large thrushes or quail, lesser ones
are small and wrenlike. A few of those found in the far south
range under low scrub in open lands, where at any alarm they run
swiftly and far. The greater number skulk hidden in the forest under-
growth and so easily escape notice. Everywhere they are shy and
secretive so that their presence is revealed mainly through their calls.
Although active in walking, running over the ground, or in climb-
ing through low shrubbery, they have only limited powers in flight.
The feet are large, with the legs strong and muscular. Wings and the
muscles used in flight correspondingly are reduced. As the birds move
FAMILY RHINOCRYPTIDAE 255
about, the tail is held at an angle above the back, from which they
have received the common name of tapaculo.
The little known of the various kinds in life indicates that some
place their nests in holes dug in the ground. Others use cavities or
crevices beneath loose bark on the bases of trees. The eggs, where
known, number two or three, are large for the size of the parent, and
are white without markings.
The genus Scytalopus, the only one found outside South America,
with 9 species and more than 20 geographic races, ranges north from
the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, and southern Chile through
the Andes to the mountains of Costa Rica. Three species are repre-
sented in Panama.
KEY TO SPECIES OF RHINOCRYPTIDAE (ADULTS )
1. Forecrown light or dark gray.
Silvery fronted tapaculo, Scytalopus argentifrons, p. 255
Pntirescrownblackatone Dl ackisilsDGOWIee err ttaer se ete) oles alee lelele) ver) 2
2. A well-marked grayish white superciliary line.
Pale-throated tapaculo, Scytalopus panamensis, p. 259
Side of head and crown plain, without a superciliary line.
Narifio tapaculo, Scytalopus vicimor, p. 260
Immature birds in all three species are light to dark buff, spotted
and barred with dusky. Specific differences in this stage are not
clearly indicated in the limited series of specimens seen.
SCYTALOPUS ARGENTIFRONS Ridgway: Silvery fronted
Tapaculo, Tapaculo Plateado
FIGURE 22
Small; wrenlike in form and actions; adult with gray center of
crown.
Description —Length 115-120 mm. Bill very short (definitely
shorter than the head), the line of the culmen slightly depressed near
center. Adult male, crown silvery gray, extending posteriorly on either
side as a broad superciliary line; forehead, side of head (including
area surrounding eyes), back, scapulars, wings, and tail sooty black ;
rump and upper tail coverts chocolate-brown; under surface from
chin to abdomen slate color to blackish slate, blacker on the sides;
flanks and under tail coverts deep russet-brown, barred narrowly
with black.
Adult female, with the gray of the crown and superciliary darker,
reduced in extent, in some nearly absent; feathers of dorsal surface
256 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
margined indistinctly with dull brown; flanks and under tail coverts
more heavily marked with russet-brown, changing on abdomen to
cinnamon-buff.
Immature, feathers of dorsal surface tipped with buffy brown to
dull brown, in varying amount; wing coverts, and in some the
secondaries and inner primaries, with a terminal spot of this color;
under surface buff to dull cinnamon-buff, tipped and barred indis-
Ficure 22.—Silvery-fronted tapaculo, tapaculo plateado, Scytalopus
argentifrons, male.
tinctly with dull black, the feathers blackish slate basally, the amount
and depth of shade in the buff markings varying widely.
Because of its retiring habits and remote mountain haunts, this
tapaculo was not found by Arcé and other early naturalists who
travelled in Panama and Costa Rica. The first known specimen, the
type of the present species, was collected by Anastasio Alfaro on
Volcan de Irazu, Costa Rica, on April 23, 1891. Following this,
the bird was reported in western Chiriqui, where Bangs (Proc. New
England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 48) recorded a series taken by
W. W. Brown, Jr., in 1901.
FAMILY RHINOCRYPTIDAE 257
SCYTALOPUS ARGENTIFRONS ARGENTIFRONS Ridgway
Scytalopus argentifrons Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, October 31,
1891, p. 475. (Volcan de Irazu, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Under surface grayer on breast and foreneck; adult
male with forecrown paler gray, this color extending posteriorly on
either side as a broad superciliary line; female with these head mark-
ings reduced, in some nearly absent.
An adult male, taken at 2135 meters beyond Bajo Grande, back of
Cerro Punta, Chiriqui, March 4, 1955, had the iris brown; bill black ;
tarsus, toes, and claws fuscous. In an immature female, collected
on the west face of Volcan Bart, at 2725 meters, March 2, 1965,
the iris was dark brown; maxilla black ; mandible fuscous-brown, with
the lower margin of the mandibular rami brownish white; front of
the tarsus mouse brown; back of tarsus and toes fuscous-brown;
claws dark brownish neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 49.2-
55.8 (51.5), tail 36.242.9 (39.2, average of 9), culmen from base
12.6-13.9 (13.2, average of 9), tarsus 19.4-20.5 (20.1) mm.
Females (8 from western Chiriqui), wing 50.3-53.0 (51.2), tail
35.7-41.2 (37.4), culmen from base 12.2-13.4 (12.7), tarsus 18.4—
20.0 (19.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Subtropical and Temperate zones
at 1525-2280 meters on the mountain slopes of western Chiriqui.
As stated above, the first published record for Panama is that of
Bangs (cit. supra) who recorded 7 specimens collected between
February and May 1901 by W. W. Brown, Jr., on the eastern face
of the Chiriqui volcano. It is interesting to note that there is an
earlier specimen in the British Museum (Natural History), cataloged
on July 10, 1898, with the data “Purch. of Mr. J. Watson.” H. J.
Watson, a former ship captain, and an early settler in the Boquete
area, interested in natural history, collected mammals and birds that
he sent to the British Museum. He assisted Brown in his work for
Bangs, especially through permission that he gave for work on his
extensive plantations.
The series collected by Monniche in the mountain forests above
Boquete, recorded by Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 533),
available on loan, have been of much assistance in the present studies.
C. Brooke Worth (Bird-Lore, 1939, p. 280), who saw this species
on Monniche’s Finca Lérida, wrote of it that this “small, wrenlike
bird . . . lived in very dense thickets. . . . In color it was a dark
258 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
grayish brown slate, but whenever it popped out of a nearby bush to
scold me, I forgot its drab hues to delight in the broad, bluish-frosted
superciliary stripe that gave its whole head a striking appearance.”
Dr. Eugene Eisenmann, from his field notes, informs me that in
September 1965, on the Finca Lérida he identified the voice as a sharp,
chirring rattle. Once he heard a higher pitched, somewhat more
musical call. In my own somewhat limited experience I have heard
them giving low chattering, trilling notes as they moved about in
dense undergrowth in heavily shaded woodland. On occasion they
may range in more open areas, as when an adult male appeared in a
low bush on the open forest floor to scold at the body of a spotted
wood quail that I had shot.
The nest and eggs of the species of Scytalopus found in Panama,
so far as | am aware, are not yet known.
As stated by Blake (cit. supra, p. 533), the population of Chiriqui
has the bill slightly larger than that of Costa Rica, but the birds are
otherwise similar in size as will be seen from the following series of
10 males from that country: wing 50.2-55.9 (52.1), tail 33.6-41.7
(37.9), culmen from base 11.5-13.9 (11.2, average of 9), tarsus
19.2-22.6 (20.8) mm.
SCYTALOPUS ARGENTIFRONS CHIRIQUENSIS Griscom
Scytalopus chiriquensis Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 141, October 31, 1924,
p. 3. (Cerro Flores, eastern Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters —Darker, more sooty gray on upper and lower surface;
male with gray markings on crown definitely darker, and the super-
ciliary less well marked; slightly larger ; in immature dress averaging
darker.
Measurements—Males (two from Cerro Flores and Chitra,
Veraguas), wing 55.2, 56.8; tail 38.8, 49.0; culmen from base 13.0,
14.2 ; tarsus 20.0, 20.4 mm.
Females (three from Chitra, Veraguas), wing 53.0-54.5 (53.5),
tail 37.4-42.8 (40.8), culmen from base 12.8-13.5 (13.2), tarsus
19.8-21.0 (20.3) mm.
Resident. Recorded from Cerro Flores, eastern Chiriqui, and
Chitra, on the Pacific slope of the mountains of eastern Veraguas.
In addition to the original description, Griscom (Nat. Hist., vol. 24,
1924, p. 516) mentions the type specimen, taken by R. R. Benson
on Cerro Flores, as a member of a genus of “small wrenlike birds of
secretive habit.” Later, in February 1926, Benson collected a male
FAMILY RHINOCRYPTIDAE 259
and three females at 1100 meters near Chitra, near the boundary with
the Province of Coclé.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1044, 1939, p. 17), from an er-
roneous identification of 4 specimens of S. a. argentifrons in im-
mature plumage from Boquete, listed birds from that locality under
the name “S. chiriquensis.” Peters (Check-1. Birds World, Pt. 7,
1951, p. 285), although he correctly identified the material in the
Museum of Comparative Zoology from Boquete as argentifrons,
in personal conversation told Dr. Eisenmann that he had included the
locality Boquete also under chiriquensis from the erroneous report by
Zimmer. It has not yet been recorded on the adjacent mountain ridges
of Bocas del Toro, but is assumed to occur in that area.
From information now available in Panama, this species ranges
from near the Costa Rican boundary to the mountains of Veraguas.
The eastern group, described in 1924 as a distinct species chiriquensts,
is here listed as a geographic race of argentifrons.
SCYTALOPUS PANAMENSIS Chapman: Pale-throated Tapaculo,
Tapaculo de Tacarcuna
Scytalopus panamensis Chapman, Auk, vol. 32, no. 4, October 4, 1915, p. 420.
(Head of Rio Cuti, east base of Cerro Tacarcuna, Choco, Colombia.)
Small; adult with a well-marked light gray superciliary, but crown
without gray ; brown of flanks brighter.
Description—Length 115-120 mm. Compared to Scytalopus ar-
gentifrons, bill larger; crown plain sooty black; superciliary much
paler gray; under surface lighter gray, with flanks and abdomen
brighter brown. Adult male, top of head, hindneck, upper back,
scapulars, and wing coverts sooty black; a strongly marked, pale
grayish white superciliary, extending to back of crown; lower back,
rump, and upper tail coverts cinnamon-brown, barred narrowly with
sooty ; wings and tail faintly brownish black; lores dull gray; space
around eye and side of head sooty black; foreneck and upper breast
plain gray; tips of feathers of lower breast and abdomen paler, lighter
gray, with the darker bases partly visible, producing a mottled ap-
pearance; flanks and under tail coverts cinnamon-brown barred with
sooty black.
Adult female, similar, except that the back, scapulars and wings
are definitely browner, and the rump, flanks, and under tail coverts
somewhat brighter.
No immature individuals have been seen among the more than 20
specimens examined.
260 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
An adult male, collected on Cerro Mali, Darién, February 20, 1964,
had the iris dark brown; bill black; front of lower half of tarsus and
the top of the middle anterior toes brownish white ; upper half, sides,
and back of tarsus and the outer toes, dark brown; three anterior
claws fuscous-brown; posterior claw darker, blacker ; concealed skin
of the region around the ear opening dull yellow.
Measurements.—Males (10 from the slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna,
and its spur Cerro Mali, Darién), wing 52.5-57.7 (54.2), tail 36.8-
42.9 (40.3, average of 9), culmen from base 14.0-15.2 (14.4), tarsus
20.7-22.0 (21.4) mm.
Females (7 from the same localities as the males), wing 51.0—
57.8 (53.9), tail 33.8-41.0 (38.6, average of 6), culmen from base
14.2-15.4 (14.3), tarsus 20.6-22.7 (21.5) mm.
Resident. Found in Darién on the slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna, in-
cluding Cerro Mali, from 1100 to 1460 meters.
In February 1964, we found these small birds common along the
ridge of Cerro Mali and the adjacent slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna.
They were seen in pairs, usually around fallen tree trunks, always low
down on or only a short distance above the forest floor. Occasionally
one paused to give a piping song, a repetition of a single note, tseety-
seety seety seety. This was heard often when the bird was concealed
in the low ground cover. We found them regularly on the high crest
of the main ridge of Tacarcuna where they ranged along the inter-
national boundary in both Panama and Colombia. Always, in appear-
ance the rather heavy body and short tail suggested a wren. In
handling them during preparation of study skins I found the body as
a whole elongated with the breast muscles and the keel of the sternum
only slightly developed. The leg muscles were large and strong. The
broad operculum over the nostril was somewhat soft, and larger than
it appears in study skins, as it shrinks slightly in size as the specimen
dries.
SCYTALOPUS VICINIOR Zimmer: Narifio Tapaculo,
Tapaculo Piquigrueso
Scytalopus panamensis vicinior Zimmer, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1044, October 11,
1939, p. 11. (Ricaurte, 1525-1825 meters, Narifio, Colombia. )
Bill short, heavy; crown wholly sooty black; no superciliary line.
Description —Adult male, crown and hindneck dark gray, basally
edged with sooty black (producing a faintly mixed pattern) ; upper
back and scapulars somewhat browner; lower back dark chestnut-
brown; rump and upper tail coverts brighter brown ; barred narrowly
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 261
with black; wings and tail brownish black; side of head, foreneck,
and upper breast dark gray, with slight indication of partly hidden,
paler gray bases, producing a faintly mottled appearance; flanks,
abdomen, and under tail coverts rather dark cinnamon-brown, barred
with black; axillars dull cinnamon-brown; under wing coverts dark
gray.
Adult female, crown and hindneck dark brownish gray; rest of
dorsal surface, including wings and tail, distinctly brighter brown;
foreneck and breast lighter gray; otherwise like adult male.
Measurements.—Male (one specimen), wing 53.8, tail 38.5, culmen
from base 14.4, tarsus 21.1 mm.
Female (one specimen), wing 53.1, tail 38.3, culmen from base
13.5, tarsus 21.8 mm.
Resident. Recorded from the head of Rio Limon, Cerro Pirre,
Darién.
This form is known in Panama from two specimens taken by
Oliver P. Pearson at 1525 and 1410 meters, on Cerro Pirre, May 11,
1938. Pearson informs me that in company with Ratibor Hartmann
he found them near the old camp site occupied by E. A. Goldman in
1912. The specimens, now in the collection of the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia have been on loan to me for study,
through the courtesy of R. M. de Schauensee.
Scytalopus vicinior was described by Zimmer for a population
ranging along the western Andes of Colombia south to western
Narifio, and the continuation of this mountain range in northwestern
Ecuador. With the Colombian specimens he included also the two
listed above from Cerro Pirre.
His allocation of vicinior as a race Scytalopus panamensis is not
accepted, as panamensis differs in its strongly marked pale grayish
white superciliary. It should be noted also that Cerro Pirre is an
isolated mountain, separated geographically from the Western Andes
of Colombia by the lowlands of the Rio San Juan and the lower
Atrato. The two specimens appear allied to vicinior in lack of the
light superciliary, but differ in the definitely heavier basal half of the
bill. They also are somewhat darker on the upper surface. It seems
probable that with more material those of Pirre may be found to
represent a distinct subspecies.
Family COTINGIDAE: Cotingas, Cotingas
This interesting group of the American tropics is another of
those considered to be South American in origin, and to have spread
262 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
northward with the formation of the Panamanian land bridge. Under
present understanding it includes 73 species, of which 20 are resident
in Panama. To the northward cotingas diminish in number, until
six are known in México, with one, the Rose-throated Becard, found
rarely northward near the Mexican boundary in southeastern Ari-
zona, and in the lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas.
Most members of the family superficially more or less suggest
tyrant flycatchers (family Tyrannidae) in appearance and _ habits.
Some, however, like the fruit-crows, vary in communal habit, as they
live regularly in small groups or bands. Others, the bellbirds and
umbrellabirds, are highly specialized in modification of head orna-
mentation, and in voice. The bellbirds locally are common and widely
distributed in forested areas, but are so secretive that their presence is
known mainly from their ringing, metallic calls. The even stranger
umbrellabirds are rarer and more retiring, so that in spite of large
size they are seldom seen, and little information on them and their
manner of life is available.
Several of the smaller species of the family are widespread and are
common. Some come regularly with other berry-eating birds to feed-
ing trees. Several build large domed nests that may be readily visible,
but often are protected through location on branches near colonies
of stinging wasps, or of biting and stinging ants.
The classification of several kinds in this family has not been
wholly certain. In the present account for those of Panama recent
studies of the anatomy of the syrinx has brought the transfer of
four generic groups long considered cotingas to the tyrant flycatcher
family (Tyrannidae).
In earlier years the group was known as the chatterers. More
recently in both Spanish and English they are called cotingas, a name
for them in an Indian language of South America.
KEY TO SPECIES OF COTINGIDAE
1. Larger, wing more than 200 mm; head with a conspicuous crest; an ex-
tensive area bare of feathers on the sides of the neck, or, in adult males,
the entire foreneck bare.
Bare-necked umbrellabird, Cephalopterus glabricollis, p. 306
Smaller, wing less than 175 mm; head not prominently crested; neck
normally teathereds te s\jas css ates Geen ese eee eee Z
2. Mouth deeply cleft, the angle of the rictus extended back beneath the eye;
males with three long, pendant head wattles; females with a rudimentary
wattle back of the rictus on either side; chin extensively bare.
Three-wattled bellbird, Procmias tricarunculata, p. 302
Mouth normal; head without wattles; chin not extensively’ bare...... 3
10.
it
2:
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 263
Plumage black, except for reddish-purple foreneck and upper breast in male.
Purple-throated fruit-crow, Querula purpurata, p. 299
Plumare not extensively black... 02262. - se. Sie ce conned ee 2 065 le teem 4
Upper surface, upper breast and sides bright blue.................. 5
Upper surface, breast and sides not bright blue...............-...+--- 6
Tenth, outermost primary shorter than the ninth to the sixth; deeper blue.
Adult male, Natterer’s cotinga, Cotinga nattererit, p. 266
Ninth and tenth outer primaries shorter than the eighth to the sixth, with
the ninth definitely narrowed at the tip ; lighter blue.
Adult male, Ridgway’s cotinga, Cotinga ridgwayt, p. 264
Under surface pale buff to buffy white, spotted heavily with dusky.... 7
lWndeneountace withiiewnonm monspotsaeis ee serine eect els este siete larele 8
Under surface slightly darker buff.
Adult female, Natterer’s cotinga, Cotinga nattereru, p. 266
Under surface paler, lighter buff.
Adult female, Ridgway’s cotinga, Cotinga ridgwayi, p. 265
Upper surface and wings (except wing tips in one species) white or faintly
PAlCuELAy | Oi CLOW) AMG CATs thor fees tee tet ctete Peta tele. allo elazsrat esse Tens 9
Wiper’ suniace and wings mot white. 2.22 joc cic cremate e'elt teal Bl deine 11
Bill yellow except for black line on culmen.
Adult male, Antonia’s cotinga, Carpodectes antoniae, p. 268
Bille@blackatomneuthalmerayeaen soe eect ee ere Scere erie hte 10
Wings plain white ; crown and tail very pale gray.
Adult male, Snowy cotinga, Carpodectes nitidus, p. 269
Wings tipped with black; tail white, the central feathers in some spotted
lightly with black. .Adult male, White cotinga, Carpodectes hopket, p. 272
Upper surface, crown to tail, dark to slaty gray, without markings.... 12
Upper surface, crown to tail, not wholly plain gray without markings.. 14
Bill yellowish brown on base, dull brown to black elsewhere.
Adult female, Antonia’s cotinga, Carpodectes antoniae, p. 268
Billgblackestomnetitralmenayoasaeeer eee cee toe oe eee iets eres 13
Smaller ; wing 125-135 mm; somewhat paler gray.
Adult female, Snowy cotinga, Carpodectes nitidus, p. 270
Larger ; wing 143-150 mm; somewhat darker gray.
Adult female, White cotinga, Carpodectes hopkei, p. 272
Large, wing more than 95 mm; wings black, with little or no white
SU SITs | Sau crete erage cieiclemn ein Pie eee era ace eee eee eee 15
Space around eye and lores bare, except for scattered, hairlike bristles ;
bill stout, arched, with the mandibular rami as long as the gonys; base
of bill and side of head in life dull red.
Masked tityra, Tityra semifasciata, p. 288
Side of head and lores closely feathered; bill flattened, relatively broader,
wholly black, with the gonys decidedly longer than the mandibular rami.
Black-crowned becard, Erator inquisitor, p. 294
Crown bineloes ee ee OR SE SS, Ree OG ce ate itae cami ae 17
GCrownknoem blacks ese ee RN SIE: eronertelpe tau are enanersteretoner 21
Bacle blacks ate thsi hs Neer we de atte aes element BNO ie: lela ey as 2 aang 18
Bach. raves a its ca atte asettin® acatias be aie ale Ie Teaco aie he mieten! Siete hana etle 20
264 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
18. Wings and back plain; larger, wing more than 80 mm.
Adult male, One-colered becard, Platypsaris homochrous
homochrous, p. 286
Scapulars and wings marked prominently with white................. 19
19. Under surface plain gray.
Adult male, White-winged becard, Pachyramphus
polychopterus similis, p. 281
Under surface whitish to yellowish, barred narrowly with dark gray.
Barred becard, Pachyramphus versicolor costaricensis, p. 273
20. Tail black, tipped with white ; forehead white.
Adult male, Black-and-white becard, Pachyramphus
albogriseus ornatus, p. 284
Tail gray, forehead black, like crown.
Adult male, Cinereous becard, Pachyramphus rufus, p. 279
21. Lower surface partly or wholly pale yellow................eeceeeees 22
Lower surface cinnamon-buff to nearly white...................ee0eee 23
22. Crown and back grayish brown, smaller, wing less than 75 mm.
Female, White-winged becard, Pachyramphus polychopterus
similis, p. 281
Crown bright brown, with a black band on sides and nape.
Female, Black-and-white becard, Pachyramphus
albogriseus ornatus, p. 285
23. Larger, wing more than 80 mm.
Adult female, One-colored becard, Platypsaris homochrous
homochrous, p. 286
Smaller, cuniney tess. Chiat MM TE oo. chal «aha laa wicig ais eiinin gash ee a ote eee 24
24. Alula and outer primary coverts wholly or partially black.
Female and immature male, Cinereous becard, Pachyramphus rufus, p. 279
Alula and primary coverts brown.
Cinnamon becard, Pachyramphus cinnamomeus, p. 275
COTINGA RIDGWAYI Zeledén: Ridgway’s Cotinga,
Cotinga de Ridgway
Cotinga ridgwayi Zeledon, in Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 10, April 25,
1887, p. 1, pl. 6, figs. 3, 4. (Pozo Azul de Pirris, Costa Rica.)
Medium size; male bright blue, throat and spot on breast purple;
female, buffy on lower surface, spotted with dusky.
Description—Length 170-185 mm. Male, with ninth and tenth
primaries definitely shorter than the eighth, the tip of the ninth much
narrowed ; female with the eighth and ninth slightly narrower ; upper
tail coverts shorter, not more than two-thirds length of tail. Adult
male, bright blue (the feathers black at base) ; wings and tail black,
with the wing coverts and secondaries edged with bright blue; a
narrow black orbital ring; a narrow line of black on forehead at
base of bill and on anterior lores; chin bright blue mixed with black;
throat, foreneck, and upper margin of breast blackish purple; center
of breast and upper abdomen dark purple; rest of lower surface
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 265
bright blue; axillars and under wing coverts black, edged with bright
blue.
Female, above blackish brown to sooty, the feathers edged with
white to buffy white; wings dull black, edged lightly with cinnamon ;
lesser wing coverts edged with white to buffy white; middle and
greater coverts edged with cinnamon; tail dull black, tipped lightly
with pale buff or cinnamon; under surface buff to buffy white ; upper
foreneck spotted indistinctly with grayish brown; rest of under
surface with larger, elongate spots of dark grayish brown; center of
lower abdomen and under tail coverts buff; axillars and under
wing coverts buff to cinnamon-buff, the wing coverts spotted lightly
with dusky ; primaries and secondaries edged with buff.
Immature male, like female, but with blue feathers of adult
scattered through the plumage; an indistinct spot of dull red on lower
throat.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
100.1-107.6 (103.1), tail 58.2-62.9 (60.2), culmen from base 14.0-
15.9 (14.9), tarsus 20.0-21.7 (20.6) mm.
Females (4 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 102.7—106.3
(104.3), tail 59.2-65.2 (62.1), culmen from base 15.4-16.5 (15.9),
tarsus 20.8-22.2 (21.4) mm.
Resident. Rather rare in high forest in the upper Tropical and
lower Subtropical Zones in western Chiriqui.
This interesting species was reported for the Republic first by
Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 200) from an immature
specimen taken by Arcé in Chiriqui in 1870, without indication
of definite locality. It was listed with a query as the related species
Cotinga amabilis, with doubt expressed as to its identity. Salvin and
Godman later (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 139) identi-
fied it definitely as C. ridgwayi, and recorded the locality as Bugaba.
In July 1901, W. W. Brown, Jr., who collected two males at Bugaba,
reported it as rare and local, “seldom taken by the feather hunters.”
In recent field work near El Volcan around the lakes and the base
of Cerro Pando, we have found it with fair regularity but in small
number. It ranges also in the hills at Santa Clara toward the Costa
Rican boundary.
In early morning single individuals may rest in the tops of tall
dead trees, sometimes at the border of clearings, occasionally in trees
standing in forest. In such locations they may shift about among the
branches, but aside from this rest quietly. Others have come to
guarumos (Cecropia), or to trees with ripening berries, feeding there
266 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
among other birds. Their flight is direct and fairly rapid, accompanied
by a rattling sound, heard when birds are near.
In southwestern Costa Rica they are more numerous, as Slud
(Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 225-226) found
them fairly common from the Gulf of Nicoya to Golfo Dulce, and
inland from the coastal lowlands to 1375 meters along the slopes
of the mountains. Near Golfo Dulce they ranged in the borders
of mangroves. He recorded the call as ‘“‘a high-pitched thin and level
whistle lasting almost a full second.”
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 78-79), in this same
region, found a nest about 9 meters above the ground in a tree rising
in second growth near heavy forest. The shallow cup of coiled
tendrils and other plant material was built slowly during a period of
nearly a month by the female alone, with no male in attendance. The
two eggs, examined by means of a mirror fastened to a pole, were
“buffy, speckled all over with brown which was heaviest on the thick
end.”
COTINGA NATTERERII (Boissonneau): Natterer’s Cotinga,
Cotinga Azul Mayor
Ampelis Nattererit Boissonneau, Rev. Zool., vol. 3, January 1840, p. 2.
(“Bogota,” = forests of the lower Rio Magdalena, Colombia.)
Medium size; male bright blue, throat black with a faint purple
sheen; breast purple; female, paler than that of Ridgway’s cotinga,
more buff below.
Description—Length 180-200 mm. Male with only the tenth
primary shorter than the others, the ninth not narrowed distally.
Female with the outer primaries not narrowed; upper tail coverts
in both sexes longer, more than two-thirds to more than three-fourths
as long as the tail.
Adult male, bright blue (the feathers basally black); on upper
surface crown and hindneck darker blue than back; a black orbital
ring, broader in front of eye; black line at base of bill very narrow,
not extending on loral area; wings and tail black ; inner primaries and
secondaries, and central rectrices edged narrowly with blue; middle
and lesser wing coverts blue, in part with black bases showing;
greater coverts black, edged narrowly with blue; chin bright blue
mixed with black; throat, foreneck, and upper breast black with a
faint purple sheen; a central area on lower breast and abdomen
purple; axillars and under wing coverts black, edged with blue.
Female, above dull grayish brown, the feathers edged narrowly
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 267
with dull white; an indistinct narrow line of dull white back of
nostrils and on anterior lores; wings and tail brownish black; lesser
and middle coverts edged with dull white; greater coverts, secon-
daries, and inner primaries bordered with cinnamon-buff to white;
rectrices with inner webs edged with cinnamon-buff; lores and
under surface buff to pale cinnamon-buff, with the feathers centrally
dull blackish to grayish black; under tail coverts cinnamon-buff ;
under wing coverts, edge of wing, inner border of primaries and
secondaries cinnamon-buff.
Immature male, like female, with blue feathers appearing irregu-
larly over body.
A male, taken at El Real, Darién, January 8, 1964, had the iris very
dark brown; base of culmen and side of mandible behind nostril pale
greenish gray ; rest of maxilla black, of mandible neutral gray, shading
to pale greenish gray on base; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray;
claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 102.5-112.0 (108.8), tail 65.0-70.4
(66.6), culmen from base 14.6-17.7 (16.6), tarsus 21.4-22.5
(21.8) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama, and northwestern
Colombia), wing 106.2-111.1 (108.3), tail 64.5-69.5 (66.7), culmen
from base 15.4-17.4. (16.4), tarsus 21.6—23.8 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common from the Canal Zone east to
Colombia on both Pacific and Caribbean slopes.
A male, collected in 1914 by A. Chaves at Chorrera, western
Province of Panama, on the Pacific side a few kilometers west of the
Canal Zone boundary, is the most western record. Another comes
from near Cocoli, on the Pacific side of the Canal Zone, taken
August 3, 1955. The species, found regularly at Barro Colorado
Island, was taken by McLeannan a hundred years ago near Lion Hill.
Farther east on the Pacific slope I found it at Charco del Toro on the
Rio Majé; on the Rio Tuira at El Real, at the mouth of the Rio Paya,
and on the Rio Chucunaque at the mouth of the Tuquesa. Others
have been recorded from Tigre on the Rio Cupe, in this valley, and
from Garachiné on the coast. Wedel collected a series at Permé and
Puerto Obaldia in eastern San Blas.
They live mainly in the leafy screen of the high tree crown, where
usually they are hidden from the ground. As they are not active
in movement, I have observed them more as they have come to feed
in fig and other fruit trees. Once, on February 22, 1959, a female
268 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
at our camp on the Rio Paya came to a low perch to peer at the
ground, apparently in search of nesting material.
On Barro Colorado Island, Dr. Chapman recorded nests in Febru-
ary and March, the site being nearly 30 meters above the ground
with the nest placed at the base of epiphytes growing on a horizontal
limb. Nest-building and the care of the young were the task of the
female, with no male in attendance. It was noted that the young were
covered with white down, and that they were fed on berries.
The species continues in the tropical forests of western Colombia,
east through the lower Sint’ and Cauca valleys to the middle Rio
Magdalena, and south along the Pacific Coast to northwestern
Ecuador.
CARPODECTES ANTONIAE Ridgway: Antonia’s Cotinga,
Cotinga de Antonia
Carpodectes antoniae “Zeled6n, Mss.,” Ridgway, Ibis, ser. 5, vol. 2, January 1884,
p. 27, pl. 2. (Pozo Azul de Pirris, Costa Rica.)
Medium size; male white; bill yellow, with a black line on the
culmen. Female dark gray, with white abdomen; bill dark.
Description.—Length 195-210 mm. Adult male, crown very light
gray; wings pure white; upper surface, from hindneck to tail, with a
faint grayish wash; under surface, including wing coverts and under
side of wings, pure white.
Adult female, upper surface brownish gray, darker on the crown;
primaries, secondaries, middle and greater coverts and alula, blackish
slate; coverts and secondaries edged with white; tail brownish slate;
side of head and lores pale gray ; a narrow white eye-ring ; chin white ;
foreneck, upper breast and sides pale gray; abdomen, flanks, under
tail coverts, axillars, under wing coverts, and inner margin of pri-
maries white.
Bill in the adult male yellow, with the culmen black; in female,
culmen blackish brown, rest of bill yellowish to brownish yellow.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
133.1-144.4 (139.2), tail 60.0-68.3 (64.1), culmen from base 17.5-
22.2 (19.7), tarsus 24.1-25.9 (25.0) mm.
Females (5 from Costa Rica), wing 122.9-131.1 (127.1), tail
56.4-63.8 (59.5), culmen from base 17.6-20.3 (19.0), tarsus 23.1-
24.1 (23.5) mm.
Status not certain. One record for Pedregal, the port of David,
Chiriqui; and a sight record near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui.
On August 10, 1901, as W. W. Brown, Jr., completed a season’s
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 269
field work in the mountain area of western Chiriqui and came down
to the coast, he shot two males in the scrub at Pedregal. These were
the only ones seen, and are the only specimens as yet reported for
Panama (see Bangs, Proc. New Eng. Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902,
p. 41.) One is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the other
was presented to the U.S. National Museum by Mr. Bangs.
At the head of the Rio Corott back of Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui,
in early morning on February 10, 1966, as I climbed the wooded
slope toward the boundary with Costa Rica, half way up in heavy
forest I saw a male of this species fly into the top of a tall tree. It
moved along through the tree crown before we came near. A female
flew past without stopping.
According to Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
pp. 226-227) this species is fairly common at several coastal localities
in southwestern Costa Rica, from the Gulf of Nicoya to Golfo Dulce.
He notes that “I saw it usually in groups to the size of small flocks,
almost invariably in tall trees and typically in the mangroves and
contiguous tall woodland. ...In the mangroves individuals are
almost constantly flying about. . .. The bird flies easily and well
either in the direct, flowing manner of a pigeon or in long and shallow,
tityra-like dips. The note is a dovelike or trogonlike “‘cah” or “cow,”
ending in a throaty scrape . . . The birds call seldom.”
The nest and eggs are unknown.
Search should be made for this species in the mangroves among
the islands and swampy shores on the coast of Chiriqui from below
Pedregal eastward.
The type specimen collected in May 1883, presented to the U.S.
National Museum by José Zeledén, was taken by his brother Juan.
The species was named for their sister, Antonia Zeledon de Araya.
CARPODECTES NITIDUS Salvin: Snowy Cotinga, Paloma del
Espiritu Santo
Figure 23
Carpodectes nitidus Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864 (February 1865),
p. 583, pl. 36. (Tucurrique, Costa Rica. )
Medium size; male white, with black bill; female like that of
Antonia’s Cotinga, but bill black or slate.
Description —Length 195-210 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck pale bluish gray; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts, tail,
alula, greater wing coverts and primaries very pale gray; sides of
270 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
head, including lores, and entire under surface, including the under
wing coverts, pure white; narrow bare margin of eyelids black.
Adult female, upper surface brownish gray, pileum somewhat
blacker; primaries and primary coverts black; secondaries, middle
and greater coverts blackish slate, edged with white and grayish
white ; narrow bare edge of eyelids black; a narrow ring around eye
white; rest of side of head brownish gray; chin narrowly white;
FicgurE 23.—Snowy cotinga, paloma del espiritu santo, Carpodectes nitidus,
male above, female below.
foreneck, upper breast, and sides pale gray; lower breast, abdomen,
flanks, and under tail coverts white; outer under wing coverts
blackish gray; axillars, rest of under wing coverts, and edging of
inner side of primaries white.
Nestling (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. no. 494659, San Carlos, Costa
Rica, March 23, 1891), wings and tail about one-third grown; cov-
ered closely with soft white down feathers, those on upper surface
tipped narrowly with dull grayish brown, most heavily on back of
head.
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 271
An adult male, taken below Almirante, Bocas del Toro, February
15, 1958, had the iris dark hazel brown; culmen dusky neutral gray ;
rest of bill pale neutral gray ; tarsus and toes fuscous, with the pads on
the under surface of the toes dull brown; claws black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bocas del
Toro), wing 134.5-145.3 (139.0), tail 62.2-70.0 (64.4), culmen from
base 19.5-21.4 (20.3), tarsus 24.5-26.5 (25.6) mm.
Females (10 from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro) wing
129.0-143.5 (133.1), tail 59.2-69.2 (63.1), culmen from base 19.2-
20.9 (20.1), tarsus 23.0-26.5 (24.6) mm.
Resident. Uncommon near Almirante, Bocas del Toro.
This cotinga was first recorded from Panama by F. H. Kennard,
who collected a female on the Rio Occidente, below Almirante, March
20, 1926. Kennard (in Kennard and Peters, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat.
Hist., vol. 38, 1928, p. 458) wrote that it “was uncommon on the
Western River near Almirante, where it was found only in the tops of
very tall trees, and it was seen also along the Boquete Trail at
about 1000 feet.’ Following this, Wedel collected a series of six
males, three females, and another with sex not marked, near AIl-
mirante in May and August 1927, and August 1928 (Peters, Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 329). Griscom (Amer. Mus.
Noy., no. 293, 1928, p. 1) also recorded it from collections made
by R. R. Benson near Almirante in the summer of 1927.
In 1958, on the early morning of February 14, I saw a male in a
dead tree top near the mouth of Quebrada Pastores south of Al-
mirante, but it flew as I walked toward it and disappeared. The
following morning in forest on the lower Rio Occidente, when three
of these cotingas came to a tall tree, I shot a beautiful adult male.
Because of the short legs the birds rest with the feathers of the ab-
domen against the perch, and the body tilted slightly forward. The
shape of the head, with the feathers of the forecrown puffed, gives
them a pigeon-like appearance, so that my Panamanian helper thought
that the bird taken was a dove. The plumage was dense, with abun-
dant white down slightly greasy like powder down on my fingers.
A few days later I saw another male at this point, sitting alertly
erect with the neck elongated. It flew as we beached our canoe.
In Costa Rica, according to Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 128, 1964, p. 226) this species “is known from a few localities
grouped along the eastern edge of the central highlands. It inhabits
virgin forest, especially in broken, hilly terrain, and troops about
in groups through or above the canopy. . . . It regularly visits clear-
272 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ings or plantations with tall shade trees adjoining the forest. Here
the bird occurs either singly or in small groups of several separated
individuals usually in the upper branches of the taller trees.”
Nothing is known of the nest and eggs.
CARPODECTES HOPKEI Berlepsch: White Cotinga, Cotinga
Piquinegro
Carpodectes hopkei Berlepsch, Orn. Monatsber., vol. 5, November 1897, p. 174.
(San José, Rio Dagua, Valle, Colombia. )
Medium size (slightly larger than the two related species) ; male
whiter above, bill blacker ; primaries with black spots at tip; female,
darker above, bill larger, black.
Description Length, males 235-250 mm., females 220-235 mm.
Adult male, white throughout, very faintly duller on crown, back, and
tail; five outer primaries with a black spot at tip (some, possibly
younger, have black tips on all primaries, and larger spots on the end
of the tail) ; bare narrow edge of eyelids black.
Adult female, upper surface, brownish black; wings and tail dull
black; wing coverts, secondaries, and inner primaries edged with
white; a faintly indicated whitish ring around eye; bare skin of edge
of eyelids black; lores, side of head, and upper throat gray ; foreneck,
sides, and upper breast slightly darker gray; abdomen, flanks, under
tail coverts, axillars, under wing coverts, and edging on inner
surface of inner primaries white.
Immature male, similar to adult female, but gray of dorsal surface
paler; white edgings on wings somewhat more extensive.
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Colombia and Darién),
wing 153.1-169.0 (162.1), tail 80.2-94.7 (89.1), culmen from base
19.9-23.4 (21.9), tarsus 24.4-25.6 (24.9) mm.
Females (8 from western Colombia), wing 137.3-149.9 (144.3),
tail 74.8-87.5 (80.9), culmen from base 20.2-22.7 (21.1), tarsus
23.1-25.5 (24.2) mm.
Resident. Fairly common from 300 to 600 meters elevation on the
Cerro de Nique, Darién. Reported also by sight records from the
lower slopes of the Serrania del Sapo near Garachiné, and above
Bahia Pifias.
Thomas Barbour and W. S. Brooks in 1922, in their field study of
the birds of Darién (Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 65, 1922, pp. 193, 212) were located during April at a camp on
Cerro Sapo in rain forest below 450 meters on the headwaters of
Rio San Antonio, back of the town of Garachiné. Their account re-
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 273
lates that ‘‘after this camp was located two long trails were cut leading
up two high hogback spurs of the main range. One of these led to the
ridge called La Jarcia where trees were cut down until a fine look-out
was cleared. . . . We were always looking for white Cotingas and
several were seen from our clearing evidently visiting a feeding tree
but it stood in an absolutely inaccessible spot.”
Recently Dr. Edwin Tyson reported that he and Robert S. Ridgely
saw three white cotingas June 21, 1969, in the hills near the mouth
of Bahia Pifias, on the coast of Darién, north of Jaqué. The first
specimen for Panama, an adult male, came from Dr. Pedro Galindo,
taken March 25, 1972. The species was seen regularly in March and
April on the slopes of Nique, but not in the cloud forest of the sum-
mit. The birds were wary, but Rudolfo Hinds finally secured one at
600 meters, shot on the wing. The species was named for Gustav
Hopke who collected the series from which it was described in
November and December 1896.
PACHYRAMPHUS VERSICOLOR COSTARICENSIS Bangs:
Barred Becard, Picogrueso Veteado
Pachyrhamphus versicolor costaricensis Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club,
vol. 4, March 19, 1908, p. 26. (Irazu, Costa Rica. )
Small; breast and sides barred narrowly with slate; male with
side of head olive-yellow; female, breast and foreneck olive-yellow.
Description Length 125-130 mm. Male, crown, hindneck, and
back black; rump and upper tail coverts slate-gray, spotted in-
distinctly with black; scapulars white, barred anteriorly with black,
posteriorly with slate ; wings black; middle coverts tipped with white ;
secondaries edged broadly, primaries narrowly with white; tail gray,
with narrow tips of white, and black shafts; bare edge of eyelids
black, forming a distinct ring; lores white, with a few small feathers
in front of eye and the abundant rictal bristles, black; a narrow white
line above eye; chin white; side of head and neck pale olive-yellow,
barred narrowly with slate-gray ; rest of under surface white, barred
narrowly on foreneck, breast, sides, and under tail coverts with slate-
gray; axillars and under wing coverts white, with indistinct mottling
of gray; carpal edge black spotted with white; inner webs of pri-
maries and secondaries white.
Female, crown and hindneck slate-gray, darkening laterally to a
line of blackish slate on either side; back, scapulars, rump, and
upper tail coverts olive-green; outer wing coverts and outer webs
of primaries rufous to cinnamon-rufous, side of head and neck olive-
274 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
green; lower surface olive-yellow, barred indistinctly with slate-gray ;
wings, including under surface and tail, as in males.
Immature, middle and greater coverts, outer webs of secondaries,
and inner primaries rufous.
Measurements——Males (8 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
59.1-65.2 (63.1), tail 37.248.5 (43.8), culmen from base 10.6-12.8
(11.7, average of 7), tarsus 15.5-16.4 (15.9) mm.
Females (6 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 60.2-63.5 (61.1),
tail 42.6-46.1 (45.4), culmen from base 11.8-12.7 (12.1, average
of 5), tarsus 15.0-16.8 (16.3) mm.
Resident. Local; known from the higher levels of the volcano
in Chiriqui, from the Cerro Punta and Bambito area, on the western
face at 1580 to 1950 meters, and on the eastern side at Casita Alta
and Velo above Boquete, at 1675 to 2135 meters.
The first report of the species for the Republic is a specimen in
the American Museum of Natural History, received from J. H.
datty, collected September 13, 1901, marked Boquete. Eisenmann
in his notes reports it as not uncommon in the Bambito-Cerro Punta
area in humid woodland, usually in pairs in low second growth in
ravines. An immature male from Velo, taken at 1675 meters on
August 4, 1937, is reported by Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., 1958, p. 534)
from the Monniche collection. Another male in the National Museum
was collected by Dr. Frank Hartman at 2135 meters at Casita Alta,
February 11, 1949. C. Brooke Worth (Bird-Lore, 1939, pp. 279-
280) described the song, heard in the valley at Velo, reminiscent of
that of the field sparrow of eastern United States, as follows: “I
located the singer on a twig near the ground. Its song I wrote down
as so00-soo-wee-hee-hee-hee-heet, the syllables being clear-cut, with
the final ones ascending slightly in pitch. . . . The singing resulted
in the arrival of another bird that perched for a moment alongside
the first one and then quietly flew away.”
Alexander Skutch (Publ. Nutt. Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp. 76-80)
in Costa Rica found this form in “the cool, mossy mountain forests,
often in mixed flocks that include ovenbirds, woodcreepers, fly-
catchers, wood warblers, vireos and other small birds. . . . It subsists
largely on insects which it catches as it darts against the foliage. Its
restless activity and the briskness of its movements contrast with the
more deliberate actions of its larger relatives.’’ Two nests that he
saw were placed in the tops of slender-trunked trees at about 15 and
23 meters above the ground. Both were bulky globular structures
made of green moss and bits of other plants. In -one that he saw
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 275
under construction both male and female brought material. Green
moss was added to the exterior, and dried bamboo leaves were placed
inside. Both nests, as seen from the ground, appeared to be about
a third of a meter in diameter. One was under construction in late
June. The second, in which the parents were feeding young, was
found at the beginning of May.
An egg in the British Museum (Natural History) attributed to
this race is labeled as taken on Volcan Irazu, April 25, 1900, by
C. Underwood. It is long oval in form, white without gloss, spotted
and lined lightly on the larger half with cinnamon and grayish brown.
It measures 20.1 X 13.9 mm.
PACHYRAMPHUS CINNAMOMEUS Lawrence: Cinnamon
Becard, Picogrueso Acanelado
Small, plain cinnamon; darker above, paler on under surface.
Description—Length 140-150 mm. Adult male, very short ninth
primary with tip sharply pointed ; above, including tail, rufous-tawny,
in some slightly darker rufous; primaries and secondaries dusky,
edged with tawny; outer primary coverts, slightly darker tawny;
greater wing coverts faintly paler than adjacent area; narrow bare
margin of eyelids black; a narrow buff superciliary stripe extending
forward above lores to base of bill, becoming broader at anterior
end; lores dull gray; under surface buff to tawny buff, with chin
paler ; axillars, edge of wing, under wing coverts, and inner margins
of wing feathers buff to tawny.
Female, colors as in male, but with ninth primary equal to eighth,
not shortened or sharply pointed; somewhat smaller.
Immature male, like female in color and form of ninth primary.
The cinnamon becard is a common species, widely distributed in
Tropical Zone woodlands, found singly or in pairs, at times in com-
pany with traveling groups of other small forest birds. Often they are
seen in the tops of the undergrowth at the borders of forest, or along
the banks of streams. They may range also amid the leaves of the
higher tree crown. While not shy they may not be noticed as they
move quietly.
The species is one of wide range from southern México through
Central America and northern South America, where it is found
through western and northern Colombia south to western Ecuador
and east to western Venezuela. With the series of specimens now
available three subspecies may be recognized. A darker form, P. c.
fulvidior, with characters outlined below, is distributed from Oaxaca,
276 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Tabasco, and Chiapas in southern México, south in British Honduras,
and on the Caribbean slope in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica to western Bocas del Toro in Panama. A still darker
subspecies P. c. badius that is browner, less cinnamon, has been
named by the Phelps, father and son, from a limited range in
southern Tachira in southwestern Venezuela. The nominate race
cinnamomeus, found throughout most of Panama, occupies the vast
region between fulvidior and badius.
PACHYRAMPHUS CINNAMOMEUS FULVIDIOR Griscom
Pachyrhamphus cinnamomeus fulvidior Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol.
72, January 1932, p. 357. (‘Toledo district” = Toledo Settlement, British
Honduras. )
Characters.—Darker; deeper rufous above; more rufescent on
under surface ; averaging slightly larger.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro and Veraguas),
wing 74.8-80.7 (78.4), tail 50.1-61.0 (55.2), culmen from base
14.2-16.7 (15.7), tarsus 19.0-20.5 (19.5) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro and Veraguas), wing 74.5-81.0
(77.0), tail 53.8-59.8 (57.4), culmen from base 15.8-18.4 (16.7),
tarsus 19.1-21.6 (20.2) mm.
Resident. Locally common in the Tropical Zone in western Bocas
del Toro from the Rio Sixaola eastward, in the lowlands bordering
the Laguna de Chiriqui.
This darker subspecies, like the nominate form, ranges through
thickets and forest edge, especially along the borders of pastures.
The trees along streams also are suitable habitat. During periods of
rain, I found them occasionally in growths of tall weeds at the edge
of fields. By the middle of February in 1958 they were mating, and in
early March I saw them working at rounded nests placed at the ends
of slender branches.
Russell (Orn. Mon. A. O. U., no. 1, 1964, p. 112) states that the
“holotype of this race was collected by Peck in Toledo District ac-
cording to its label’ so that Griscom used this, an administrative
division of the country, as the type locality. Russell added further
that “Peck’s notes indicate that the specific locality was Toledo
Settlement, in the southern part of the District.”
Griscom in his description noted, regarding specimens from
Almirante, that “only two or three are obviously more richly colored
than the balance. I consequently refer these Almirante birds to
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 277
cinnamomeus.” I find however that those from western Bocas del
Toro agree best with fulvidior.
A nest collected by Dr. Pedro Galindo at Almirante May 23, 1962,
was a globular structure woven of long barklike fibers, and longer,
threadlike rootlets, with small dried leaves mixed through it, espe-
cially at the base. The opening, at one end, was concealed beneath
a drooping mass of fibers. The cup inside was lined with thin bits of
dried leaves. It measured about 120 mm in width by 200 mm long and
was 100 mm in height. Another, that Dr. Galindo collected May 26,
1962, made of the same kinds of material, was larger and more sub-
stantial, and also more firmly made. The opening was in one side,
with the cup of somewhat softer materials. This one measured 170
by 250 mm, with a height of 130 mm.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 52-55) relates that a
nest seen in Costa Rica during construction, was built by the female
alone, although the male was regularly present. The three nests
examined, placed from 44 to 15 meters from the ground, were similar
to the two found by Galindo. As they were inaccessible, the eggs
were not described. Only the female incubated, though later the
male gave some assistance in feeding the young.
PACHYRAMPHUS CINNAMOMEUS CINNAMOMEUS Lawrence
Pachyramphus cinnamomeus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1862, p. 295. (Lion Hill, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters.—Paler, more cinnamon-rufous above and_ below,
variable individually in depth of color; averaging slightly smaller.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama and western San Blas), wing 76.6-79.5 (78.0), tail 54.0-
57.6 (55.1); culmen from base 14.5-17.0 (15.8), tarsus 18.1-20.0
(19.0) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of Panama and
eastern Colon), wing 71.4-75.8 (73.4), tail 49.6-55.0 (52.3), culmen
from base 14.3-17.4 (15.5), tarsus 18.4-19.6 (18.9) mm.
In three adult males taken in the Canal Zone and eastern Province
of Panama the iris was wood brown; maxilla dusky neutral gray to
black; mandible neutral gray, in two of those examined with the
tip and cutting edge of both halves of the bill narrowly dull white;
tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws black in one, dusky neutral
gray in the others. One female had the cutting edge of the maxilla
fuscous-brown, with the rest fuscous-black.
278 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Resident. Widely distributed and locally fairly common; found
irregularly on the Pacific slope from eastern Chiriqui (Las Lajas),
western Veraguas (Puerto Vidal), and Coclé (Puerto Aguadulce),
with one record from the Azuero Peninsula (La Honda, 5 miles east
of Los Santos); more commonly in eastern Province of Panama
(Chepo, El Llano, Chiman) eastward through Darién to Colombia ;
to 900 meters above Cana on Cerro Pirre, and to 1280 meters on
Cerro Mali. On the Caribbean side from western Colon (Chilar on
the lower Rio Indio), and the northern Canal Zone east through
San Blas (to Puerto Obaldia).
They are seen most often in isolated trees along larger streams, or
in old clearings or second growth, at the borders of mangrove swamps
in the lowlands, and in shrubbery in pastures. When they range in
true forest, it is usually near the borders, where they will be found
among the leaves in the tree crown, not lower down in the under-
growth. Small-leaved trees with foliage spread so that they make
lacy shade are a frequent haunt. Always the birds move slowly and
methodically, much like vireos. The calls are low, rather weak, a
repetition of a single note, rarely somewhat harsher, but never with
strong carrying power.
The stomachs of those that I have examined have been filled with
the remains of small insects and spiders that they glean from leaves
and twigs. Small coleoptera, homoptera, ants, and caterpillars are
common items .
The nests are rounded balls of moss and other fibrous material
with an entrance in the side, placed at the ends of slender branches
from 4 to 20 meters from the ground. One that I thought might con-
tain eggs, but could not examine closely, was placed a meter or so
from a large and active nest of wasps. Others were inaccessible, also
often with wasp nests near. The birds were usually in breeding
condition or active about nests from the latter part of February
through April. I have seen no description of the eggs.
The nominate form cinnamomeus ranges commonly beyond
Panama into Colombia. With a long series from that country the
race magdalenae, named by Chapman from the lower Magdalena
Valley, does not appear separable as its color variations match those of
the bird of Panama. Size also is similar as the following measure-
ments indicate.
Males (10 from Bolivar, eastern Cordoba, and Magdalena), wing
72.5-79.9 (76.3), tail 50.3-56.2 (53.3), culmen from base 14.0-
15.9 (15.1), tarsus 18.0-19.0 (18.6) mm. .
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 279
Females (10 from Bolivar, eastern Cordoba, and Magdalena),
wing 71.3-77.3 (74.5), tail 51.0-54.8 (52.5), culmen from base
14.0-15.9 (15.1), tarsus 18.0-19.0 (18.6) mm.
PACHYRAMPHUS RUFUS (Boddaert): Cinereous Becard,
Picogrueso Cinéreo
Muscicapa rufa Boddaert, Tabl. Planch. Enl., 1783, p. 27. (Cayenne.)
Slightly smaller than the Cinnamon Becard; female differs from
that species in plain whitish lores; male is gray above with black
crown.
Description—Length 130 to 140 mm. Adult male, crown, post-
ocular area and hindneck glossy black; back, scapulars, rump, and
upper tail coverts gray, the back in some very faintly mottled with
dusky ; lesser wing coverts black, the outer ones margined with gray ;
middle and greater coverts gray, edged with white, with narrow
black shaft lines; primaries dull black, edged narrowly with white;
alula and primary coverts black; tail gray, shafts black tipped nar-
rowly with white; lores and lateral frontal feathers white; a small
spot adjacent to front of eye black; upper throat white; sides of
head and neck and of body pale gray; center of breast, abdomen, and
under tail coverts white; edge of wing, under wing coverts and
axillars white, with the outer under coverts spotted lightly with black ;
inner margins of primaries white.
Adult female, upper surface, including wings and tail (except as
noted) tawny to rufous-tawny; generally similar to the female of
Pachyramphus c. cinnamomeus, but with loral area entirely white ; the
white more extensive across the forehead; a black line on primaries
and secondaries external to the shaft (the feathers edged narrowly ex-
ternally with cinnamon-rufous), and with the inner side of the alula
and the primary coverts black.
Juvenile male, crown and hindneck dull brown, mottled slightly
with dusky; a tiny black spot adjacent to the anterior end of the
eyelids ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts, and tail cinnamon-
rufous; under surface white, with a faint band of buff across the
breast.
Juvenile female, crown and hindneck slaty gray, mixed lightly and
indistinctly with dull cinnamon, otherwise similar to the juvenile
male.
Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 269)
recorded colors in a male taken by Jewel at Gatun, Canal Zone, May
26, 1912, as “iris brown, bill blue-gray with black tip, feet light gray.”
280 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Measurements——Males (10 from Province of Panama, Canal Zone,
and northwestern Colombia), wing 64.7-72.9 (69.7), tail 47.7-52.4
(50.4), culmen from base 13.6-15.8 (14.2), tarsus 17.2-18.8
(17.7) mm. .
Females (10 from Canal Zone and northern Colombia), wing 65.3—
69.2 (67.8), tail 47.3-52.4 (49.0), culmen from base 13.2-15.0
(14.3), tarsus 16.7-18.3 (17.6) mm.
Resident. Rare; recorded in the Canal Zone, and in eastern
Province of Panama.
McLeannan secured the first specimens in his early work on the
Atlantic slope in the Canal Zone. Captain Hughes, of the S. S.
Chiriqui, took this species at Paraiso, and W. W. Brown, Jr., ac-
cording to Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 2, 1900,
p. 23) secured four at Loma de Leon. Goldman collected a female at
Tabernilla, and a pair at Gatun. It was taken by Arcé at Chepo, and by
Austin Smith at San Antonio on the lower Rio Bayano.
The Penards (Vog. Guyana, pt. 2, 1910, p. 153) described the
nest as the rounded ball of grasses and leaves usual in this genus, with
two to five eggs, dark grayish brown with darker, chocolate-brown
spots and dots over the entire surface, sometimes forming a wreath
around the larger end. The average size is recorded as 20.0 x 15.5 mm.
Haverschmidt (Birds of Surinam, 1968, p. 280) recorded the food
as insects, including Diptera, Orthoptera, and termites (taken in
flight) and berries, including mistletoe and capsicum. He lists egg
size, from the Penard collection as 20.1 14.8 mm.
Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 16, 1969, pp. 131, 137) records the
eggs as reddish gray and chocolate-gray, often with a wreath or a cap
of these dark colors; ground color in some specimens white, with
few markings. The size range in 56 specimens is listed as 18.2-
21.9 13.5-15.6 mm. The range in size seems unduly large, raising
question as to correct identification in part of the series.
Goldman, at Gatun in the Canal Zone, on January 31, 1911, col-
lected a male “in the branches of a small tree along the edge of .. .
dense forest.”
The species ranges widely in the tropics of northern South America
from Colombia and Venezuela through the Guianas and northern
Brazil to eastern Ecuador and eastern Peri. While the male is fairly
distinct the female may be confused with that of Pachyramphus
cimnamomeus. In the few specimens seen from Panama the male ap-
pears grayer on the breast than those at hand from South America.
It is probable that the northern group when better known will be
found to represent a distinct subspecies.
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 281
PACHYRAMPHUS POLYCHOPTERUS SIMILIS Cherrie:
White-winged Becard, Picogrueso Aliblanco
FIGURE 24
Pachyrhamphus similis Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, September 4,
1891, p. 343. (Greytown, Nicaragua. )
Small. Male, black above, with prominent white markings on
wings; gray underneath. Female, greenish olive above, yellow under-
neath, cinnamon-buff on wings.
Description—Length 130-145 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck with the individual feathers lined centrally with dark steel blue;
Figure 24.—White-winged becard, picogrueso aliblanco, Pachyramphus
polychopterus similis, male.
back, wings, and tail black; rump and upper tail coverts slate-gray ;
outer rectrix edged distally and tipped with white, the others tipped
in diminishing amount with white, until this is nearly or wholly ab-
sent on the central pair; scapulars externally white, forming a
prominent stripe ; middle and greater coverts tipped and edged broadly
with white; secondaries and inner primaries edged narrowly with
white; under surface slate-gray, mottled very faintly with tiny spots
of white; under wing coverts and axillars gray or mixed pale gray
and white; inner margins of wings edged with white.
Adult female, crown and hindneck olive to grayish olive; back,
rump, and upper tail coverts greenish olive; wings edged with
282 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
cinnamon-buff to white; central tail feathers basally greenish olive,
becoming black at tips ; lateral pairs black, all tipped widely with buff ;
side of head light olive; lores mixed with white, with a narrow white
stripe over eye and a broader one below; under surface light to pale
yellow, sides of chest light olive; edge of wing, axillars and under
wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of wing feathers pale buff to
yellow.
Immature, like female, but in male changing early to a mixture of
gray on the breast and black on the upper surface.
In several males the color of the eye varied from wood brown
to very dark brown and reddish brown; tip of maxilla black; rest of
bill dark neutral gray, with the base of the mandible in some pale
brownish white; tarsus and toes neutral to dusky neutral gray; claws
dusky neutral gray to black.
One female, taken January 28, 1962, at Las Palmitas, Los Santos,
had the iris mouse brown; maxilla black; mandible pale brownish
white, with anterior half of sides dark neutral gray ; tarsus, toes, and
claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 69.6-73.5 (71.3),
tail 50.8-57.0 (53.8), culmen from base 14.0-15.7 (14.7), tarsus
18.0-19.1 (18.4) mm.
Females (10 from Veraguas, Los Santos, Province of Panama,
Canal Zone, San Blas, and Costa Rica), wing 64.5-69.1 (67.0), tail
46.8-55.0 (50.1), culmen from base 14.0-15.3 (14.8), tarsus 18.0-
18.9 (18.4) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common wherever there are thickets and
trees (but not in heavy forest) in the Tropical Zone; on the Pacific
side from western Chiriqui (Volcan, Boquete) east (including Los
Santos) to Darién; ranging upward to 900 to 1300 meters on more
open mountain slopes and around clearings; on the Caribbean side
from western Bocas del Toro (Almirante), Canal Zone (Barro
Colorado), Colén (Portobello), and western San Blas (Mandinga) ;
Isla Cébaco.
These becards are found singly or in pairs, near the ground in thick-
ets or in trees in the higher branches. In dense forest they frequent
the more open areas along the rivers. They appear regularly in
scattered trees in pastures, other clearings, and over coffee planta-
tions. Around towns it is common to encounter them in suburban
shade trees. They move quietly among the branches, searching for
insects, often taking the larger kinds by flying up to seize them
from leaves. They also feed on ripening berries, in company with
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 283
other birds. The stomach of one taken by Goldman at Portobelo held
bits of an earwig and other insects, and a fragment of caterpillar skin,
but mainly was crammed with the remains of berries. Males have a
pleasant song of a single whistled note, given in rapid repetition.
Skutch (Auk, 1954, pp. 113-129, plate 9) in an interesting account
describes the habits of this bird, mainly as observed in Costa Rica.
According to his observations both sexes sing, the notes of the male
being stronger. During the nesting season from March to September
the male has an especially clear dawn-song, that may be repeated
steadily for an hour or more. The nest, built by the female alone, is
a bulky, rounded mass of fibrous inner bark, palm and banana leaf
fibers, and similar stringy material, mixed with leaves, moss, and
dried threadlike inflorescences. The entrance is a rounded opening
in one side. One nest measured 15X18 centimeters, with the
entrance 3.8 centimeters in diameter. During the incubation period
the female on return from brief absences usually brings a bit of leaf
or other material to add to the structure, either externally or in the
lining. The eggs usually are covered with loose leaves during such
absences. The male, attentive to his mate on the nest, may perch and
sing nearby, often answered by the hidden female. He does not enter
the nest however until finally he joins his mate in bringing food to the
nestlings.
The eggs, three or four in number are “pale gray, mottled all over
with brown, most heavily in a wreath about the larger end.” One
set of two measured 20.2X15.1 and 19.8x14.3 mm. The newly
hatched young have pink skin and are without down. Young were
fed on insects alone. Fledglings when grown leave the nest and do
not return to use it as a sleeping shelter. Some nests were built in
close proximity to hives of stinging wasps, an excellent protection.
Regular enemies were toucans that pulled open the nests and ate eggs
and young. The parasitic flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) frequently
took finished becard nests for their own use, and on occasion the
common small black bees also claimed finished nests before the birds
could use them.
The species P. polychopterus ranges widely in tropical America
from Honduras southward through Colombia, Venezuela, and Trini-
dad to eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay. Variation
geographically is considerable, confused by individual range in depth
of color, especially in the males, so that decision as to subspecies
to be recognized is difficult. Currently, the birds of Central America
and Colombia have been united as a single race under the name
284 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
cimereiventris. With the considerable series now available it appears
that those from Central America through eastern Panama are fairly
uniform in the shade of gray on the lower surface. In Colombia,
depth of this color is highly variable, ranging from pale gray to
black, but in the darker shades seldom duplicating those of Central
America. With this better understanding, the northern population
south through Panama may be separated under the name similis,
proposed by Cherrie, with the type locality Greytown, Nicaragua. A
specimen from Unguia, extreme northern Chocd, Colombia, is as-
signed without question to this race. Others across the lowlands of
northern Colombia through the Sint, lower middle Cauca, and
Magdalena drainages east to western Guajira (Carriapia), of average
darker gray coloration below, are to be recognized as cinereiventris.
Across the northern Andes in Colombia, through Antioquia and
south to Cauca and Huila, at elevations above 1200 meters, slightly
larger birds, very pale gray on the lower surface, represent another
form, dorsalis.
PACHYRAMPHUS ALBOGRISEUS ORNATUS Cherrie: Black-
and-white Becard, Picogrueso Blanquinegro
Pachyrhamphus ornatus Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, September 4,
1891, p. 338. (Barranca, Costa Rica.)
Small; male, generally similar to Pachyramphus rufus, but larger,
with more white in the wings, and distal third of tail black, with
white tips. Female, yellow underneath; crown brown, with a broad
black border at sides and rear.
Description —Length, 140-150 mm. Adult male, crown and nape
black basally, tipped with dark steel-blue; back, scapulars, and rump
gray; upper tail coverts slightly paler; bases of rectrices gray, with
narrow shaft lines and distal third black; the individual feathers
tipped broadly with white on outer pair, the white decreasing in
sequence until on the central pair it becomes a narrow tip; wings
black; the terminal row of the lesser coverts tipped narrowly with
white ; middle coverts tipped broadly, and greater coverts edged and
tipped with white; inner wing feathers and the outer primary edged
with white; forehead, a line across upper lores extending back above
eye, and a narrow line on the lower eyelid, white; loral area immedi-
ately in front of eye black; a narrow, indistinct band on hindneck,
foreneck, breast, and sides light gray ; abdomen and under tail coverts
white; axillars, under wing coverts, and inner margins of wing
feathers white.
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 285
Female, crown and nape chestnut-brown; forehead, a line extend-
ing back above eye, and a line on lower eyelid white; lores black; a
narrow black line bordering brown of crown, becoming broad on side
of head and across nape, bordered on posterior margin of nape with a
wash of light gray; back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail coverts
grayish olive-green; tail black, basally becoming grayish brown, the
outer rectrix edged and tipped widely with cinnamon-buff, the other
tail feathers tipped with the same in decreasing amount; wings
black, the lesser coverts edged with brown or olive; middle and
greater coverts, and wing feathers edged and tipped broadly with
buff to cinnamon-buff ; sides of head, neck, and a narrow line across
base of hindneck pale yellowish olive; under surface, including
flanks, pale yellow; axillars, under wing coverts, and inner border
of wing feathers very pale yellow.
Measurements—Males (8 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Costa
Rica), wing 69.7-75.1 (73.1), tail 51.5-55.4 (52.9), culmen from
base 14.4-16.8 (15.5, average of 7), tarsus 18.0-19.2 (18.6) mm.
Females (6 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 69.4-72.7 (70.1),
tail 50.7-58.8 (54.2), culmen from base 14.2-15.6 (14.8), tarsus
18.1-19.5 (18.9) mm.
Resident. This species, rare and little known in Panama, has been
found mainly in the mountain areas of Chiriqui, where Arcé collected
a male at Bugaba. His early records include also two other males
marked Calovévora which is on the Caribbean side in northern
Veraguas. These, with the one first mentioned, in the British
Museum (Natural History), are dated 1868 and 1869. In the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History there is a female labeled Boqueron,
August 26, 1901, and a male from Boquete, April 20, 1903. Mrs.
Mary E. Davidson secured a female at Horqueta, above Boquete,
February 5, 1934 (specimen in the California Academy of Sciences).
Two females in the Monniche collection (Field Museum) from the
latter area were taken at 1675 meters at Velo May 23 and December
12, 1939. Griscom secured male and female on Cerro Flores, eastern
Chiriqui, March 9 and 13, 1924. On the Pacific side of Veraguas,
Benson collected a male at Chitra, January 13, 1926. These are the
definite records to date, all from western Panama.
A report of this species by Griscom (Auk, 1933, p. 304, cited also
in Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935, p. 346) of a male in the
Peabody Museum at Yale, taken by Austin Smith at Puerto Antonio
on the Rio Bayano, near Chepo, is based on a male Pachyramphus
rufus that was wrongly identified. Another early record by Salvadori
286 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and Festa (Bol. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Torino, vol. 14, 1899, p. 6)
is a female listed as “Pachyramphus albogriseus’ taken by Festa in
July 1895, at Punta de Sabana on the lower Rio Tuira, Darién.
While the specimen, presumed to be in the museum at the University
of Turin, is said to have been identified by Sclater, it should be
examined again, as determination of females in this genus is often
difficult. Its locality is far distant from that known for any race of
P. albogriseus.
PLATYPSARIS HOMOCHROUS HOMOCHROUS (Sclater):
One-colored Becard, Picogrueso Gris
Pachyrhamphus homochrous P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27,
August 1859, p. 142. (Pallatanga, Ecuador. )
Small; male, blackish slate above, gray below; female, chestnut-
brown above, paler below (in general, similar to female of Pachy-
ramphus cinnamomeus but larger ).
Description—Length 160-175 mm. Adult male, ninth primary
sharply pointed, half as long as tenth; crown and nape black ; hind-
neck, back, and scapulars, blackish slate, changing over the rump
and upper tail coverts to slate color; center of back with bases of
feathers white, forming a concealed patch; tail blackish slate; wings
dull blackish slate, edged with slate-gray; wing coverts mainly slate
color; under surface slate-gray, somewhat paler on chin and upper
throat ; rarely, the lower throat and upper foreneck with a faint wash
of pink; carpal edge of wing in some mixed with white; axillars and
under wing coverts slate-gray; inner margins of wing feathers
white.
Adult female, ninth primary of normal length; entire upper sur-
face, including tail and innermost secondaries, cinnamon to tawny-
rufous ; center of upper back with feather bases partly white, forming
an indefinite concealed patch ; primaries and outer secondaries dusky-
black, with the outer webs cinnamon; under surface buff to och-
raceous, usually paler on throat and abdomen; axillars, under wing
coverts, and inner webs of wing feathers ochraceous-buff to tawny-
ochraceous.
Immature male, wing with ninth primary normal, like tenth;
crown black; back, rump, and upper tail coverts grayish black; wings
and tail as in female; under surface grayish white, washed irregularly
with buff and gray. ( Pattern of coloration varies with change in age. )
A male, taken at the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, on the
Rio Pequeni, eastern Province of Panama, March 4, 1961, had the
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 287
iris wood brown; maxilla black; mandible dark neutral gray; tarsus
and toes dark neutral gray; claws black. Another, from Pucro,
Darién, January 30, 1964, had the iris dark reddish brown; maxilla
and tip of mandible black; rest of mandible neutral gray ; tarsus, toes,
and claws as in the first. A female, from Pucro, February 1, 1964,
had the iris wood brown; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray ;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ; claws fuscous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Province of Panama, Canal
Zone, Darién, and Chocd, Colombia), wing 82.2-88.5 (86.5), tail
58.0-61.5 (59.7), culmen from base 17.0-19.7 (18.5), tarsus 20.0-
2ic5(20.5) mm:
Females (8 from Province of Panama, Canal Zone, Choco, Co-
lombia, and Ecuador), wing 82.5-89.6 (86.5), tail 56.2-63.5 (60.0),
culmen from base 18.2—20.2 (19.3), tarsus 20.0-21.7 (20.6) mm.
Resident. Found rarely on the Pacific slope from the lower Rio
Bayano, eastern Province of Panama, eastward to Darién; recorded
on the Caribbean side on the Rio Pequeni, back of Madden Lake,
and in older accounts from the northern Canal Zone.
The first report for Panama was by Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat.
Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862, p. 473) who received male and female
collected by McLeannan. The locality was not stated, but it is as-
sumed that they were from the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone, as
this was the main area of work by this collector. On March 4, 1961,
on the Rio Pequeni, near the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, I
collected an adult male in breeding condition from a tree that pro-
jected over the river. The bird moved slowly in short flights through
the branches. These are the only records known to me for the
Caribbean side. From the Pacific slope, there are two males and four
females in the Peabody Museum at Yale, taken by Austin Smith near
Puerto San Antonio on the lower Rio Bayano, in February and
March 1927.
Near Charco del Toro, at the head of tidewater on the Rio Maje,
on March 20, 1950, I collected a female from two that moved quietly
in the middle branches of a tree beside the river. In Darién, at the
mouth of the Rio Paya, on February 24, 1959, I secured a male as it
rested in a guarumo adjacent to a clearing, and on March 7, took
another from a tree overhanging a playon on the Rio Tuira. Near
the Indian village of Pucro in this same region I secured a male,
feeding in the top of a guarumo on the river bank, January 30, 1964,
a female from a group of small birds at a feeding tree, February 1,
and another female, on the following day, as it rested in a tree top in
288 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the edge of tall forest. The National Museum also has a male taken
by Goldman near Cana on Cerro Pirre June 6, 1912, and another
from Dr. Pedro Galindo from the old Tacarcuna village site on the
upper Rio Tacarcuna, July 11, 1963.
The Goldman specimen had the stomach filled with insect remains,
including longicorn beetles, membracids, a caterpillar, and parts of a
large moth. Others examined had eaten small berries.
Webster (Condor, 1963, pp. 383, 399) in a detailed study of these
becards has included homochrous and its races as subspecies of
Platypsaris aglaiae of México and northern Central America, since
males of the two southern forms, hypophaeus of the Caribbean
slope and J/atirostris of the Pacific side, are closely similar in pattern
and color. Two males of typical homochrous from eastern Darién,
with a faint wash of rose on the throat (collected since Webster’s
studies), appear to strengthen this resemblance. However, in the
series that I have seen, females of the northern forms have a dark
crown cap, definitely different from the back, while in the homochrous
group of Panama and Colombia the crown is like the rest of the
dorsal surface. The two groups obviously are descendants of one
stock, but on this difference, clearcut in all specimens seen, appear to
have diverged sufficiently to be regarded as two species.
Ames (Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 37, 1971, pp. 40-41, 163)
points to “several tyrannid features of the syrinx” in the becards
(Pachyramphus, Platypsaris) not found in other Cotingidae. He sug-
gests a survey of other features to determine their relationship, with
the suggestion that they may be “more closely related to the Tyran-
nidae.”’
TITYRA SEMIFASCIATA (Spix): Masked Tityra, Borreguito
Figure 25
Pachyrhynchus semifasciatus Spix, Av. Spec. Nov., Bras., vol. 2, 1825, p. 31,
pl. 44, fig. 1. (Belém, Province of Para, Brazil.)
Medium size, heavy body; male, grayish white with black on facial
mask, wings and tail; female, white below, grayish brown above.
Description —Length 180-200 mm. Lores and space around eye_
bare; height of bill equal to width at nostril; nostril separated from
frontal feathering; gonys about as long as mandibular rami. Adult
male, ninth primary slender, shortened, about half as long as eighth
and tenth; forecrown back to middle of eye, side of head and chin
black; rest of head white to grayish white; back, scapulars, lesser
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 289
and middle wing coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts pale bluish
gray ; concealed bases of feathers in upper back white; rest of wing,
including outermost greater coverts and alula, black; tail with distal
half black, basal area and tip white to grayish white; under surface,
including axillars, under wing coverts and inner margins of wing
feathers, white to pale bluish gray.
AS
i \\\ ae
NS mi /
Ficure 25.—Masked tityra, borreguito, Tityra semifasciata, male above,
female below.
Adult female, crown, nape, and side of head grayish brown to
sooty brown; back, scapulars, and rump more grayish brown; con-
cealed bases of feathers in center of back white to grayish white;
lower rump and upper tail coverts usually grayer ; wings as in male,
but duller colored; tail as in male, but black area more extensive;
throat white; rest of under surface grayish to grayish white.
290 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Immature male, in general like female but paler, more grayish
brown above; changing by degrees to adult dress.
These wide-ranging birds are common throughout the Republic
wherever there is forest cover in lowlands and in hill country border-
ing the mountains. Though seemingly universally distributed, they
are seen mainly about clearings, along the borders of streams, and
in open second growth. As they are birds of the tree crown they
may be detected only casually in extensive reaches of heavy forest.
It is usual to see them in pairs, flying about the skeleton branches of
dead trees where there are woodpecker holes or other cavities. They
inspect these openings, peering in from the entrance until in the breed-
ing season one is selected for a nest. Then the female may enter
while the male remains perched nearby. Where more than two of
the birds are found together, usually there is one female accompanied
by two or more males that fly and perch in close company intent on
mating. I have observed no indication of struggle among them, and
the paired status seems finally to be arranged amicably.
The only calls that I have heard from them are curious, grunting
notes uttered with little emphasis. From these, they are sometimes
known in Spanish as pdjaro chancho, or cerdito in reference to the
somewhat piglike sounds. As they fly about openly among dead
trees standing in fields and pastures they are well known among
country residents. In México I have heard them called borreguitos,
little lambs, because of their light colors.
The food of these birds is divided between insects of fair size,
that they often flutter out to seize from leaves, and the drupes of
trees which they visit in company with many other forest birds.
As a species this cotinga is widely distributed from southern
México to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southeastern Brazil.
Two of the several geographic races that are recognized are found in
Panama. The species was described originally by Spix as “in Pro-
vincia Para.”’ Pinto (Cat. Aves Brasil, pt. 2, 1944, p. 47) has restricted
the type locality to the region of Belém.
The species is one of strong flight, seen regularly in passage over
forest and across wide open spaces. Though they are present on
Isla Coiba, and also on Isla Cébaco off the Pacific Coast, they have
not been recorded in the Archipiélago de las Perlas, or on Isla Taboga
and the islands adjacent.
TITYRA SEMIFASCIATA COSTARICENSIS Ridgway
Tityra semifasciata costaricensis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19,
September 6, 1906, p. 119. (Bonilla, Costa Rica.)
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 291
Characters ——Male, slightly grayer, less clearly white; female,
definitely darker, browner on crown, hindneck, and back; rump and
upper tail coverts darker gray.
In a male collected near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 10,
1966, the iris was brownish red; bare skin on side of head deep red;
tip of bill black, rest dull red; inside of mouth brighter red; tarsus
and toes brownish gray ; claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (10 from Canal Zone, lower Chagres Valley
in the eastern Province of Panama, western Province of Panama,
Coclé, Herrera, and Chiriqui), wing 115.2-123.2 (119.5), tail 64.7-
73.7 (68.7), culmen from base 23.6-26.8 (25.4), tarsus 24.4-26.6
(25.5) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, western Province of Panama,
Coclé, Herrera, and Chiriqui), wing 111.5-118.0 (114.5), tail 64.6—
69.3 (66.6), culmen from base 25.1-27.2 (26.3), tarsus 24.7-26.5
(25.4) mm.
Resident. Locally common wherever there are trees, on the Pacific
slope from western Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles, Sereno) east
through Veraguas (Sona, and western side of the Azuero Peninsula),
Los Santos (Tonosi) southern Coclé (El Valle), the Province of
Panama (La Campana, Cerro Azul), and the Canal Zone; on the
Caribbean side from western Bocas del Toro (Zegla, Almirante),
northern Veraguas (Calovévora), northern Coclé (EI Uracillo),
Col6n (Rio Indio), and the northern Canal Zone; mainly in the
Tropical Zone, but to 1850 meters in the lower Subtropical Zone in
Chiriqui (Cerro Punta); Isla Coiba, Isla Cébaco.
The most eastern records are a female taken April 23, 1949, at
the Quebrada Carriaso on the headwaters of the Rio Pacora in the
Cerro Azul, and a male collected February 18, 1961, on the Province
of Panama side of the Rio Boquerén, near the Peluca Hydrographic
Station, back of Madden Lake. Both specimens in color are clearly
of this western race. There are numerous specimens from both the
northern and southern slopes in the Canal Zone. Beyond Panama
costaricensis ranges through Costa Rica and Nicaragua to south-
eastern Honduras. |
The first report of eggs of this race is that of Cherrie (Auk,
1892, p. 322) who recorded a nest with one egg at Térraba, Costa
Rica, found March 22, 1892. The female, which he collected, had
another egg in the oviduct. The ground color in these eggs was
“dark pinkish buff . . . almost completely hidden by irregular mark-
ings, lines, and blotches, of chestnut brown, these blotches darkest
and most abundant about the larger end. The eggs measure 1.16 X
292 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
.83 inch” (equivalent to 29x21 mm). He recorded the nest as “in an
old woodpecker hole . . . in an old stump. The bottom of the nest
. was without any lining whatever.”
Skutch (Auk, 1946, pp. 327-362) in a detailed account of the habits
of this race as observed in Panama and Costa Rica, described a nest
at Barro Colorado Island in a large cavity in a dead trunk, standing
in the water of Gatun Lake. This contained two eggs “dark buff or,
better, the color of coffee with milk, heavily marbled, especially on
the thicker end with brown. A few small, scattered, black spots
completed their decoration. They measured 30.2 by 20.6 and 29.8 x
21.4 millimeters.”
He recorded other nests, usually, but not always, in dead trees,
frequently in holes made by woodpeckers. In the area of his studies
in the mountains of Costa Rica the holes made by the common
Golden-naped Woodpecker (Centurus chrysauchen) were a usual
choice. Rarely he found nests located from 12 to 20 meters above the
ground in cavities formed by the attachment of the broad bases of
leaf stems to the trunk in feather palms. The nest cavity is filled with
fragments of dead leaves, twigs, and dried flowers all gathered in
the trees. The birds are never seen on the ground. The female
collects this material alone. The male, who follows her back and
forth, may carry a leaf or a bit of twig to the entrance but usually lets
it fall to the ground. Selection of the nest hole is made by the female,
since the male, her regular companion, does not enter until the eggs
hatch, when he shares in feeding the young. The female does not
sleep in the nest hole until incubation begins, a duty that she carries
on alone. During this period she leaves the nest often during the
day. Usually on return she brings a bit of leaf to add to the nest
material. This is rather loosely arranged. In the only cavity ac-
cessible, Dr. Skutch found the eggs completely covered by the leaves
and other nest material. A second nesting may follow soon after the
young are on the wing.
Cotingas do not seem at all quarrelsome, as at the Barro Colorado
Island location mentioned the same tree housed nests of a pair of
Blue-headed Parrots, one of the Noble Flycatcher, and one of the
Black-winged Palm Tanager. They do, however, annoy woodpeckers
by filling their newly excavated nest holes with leaves and other litter,
until finally the woodpeckers tire of cleaning this out and leave.
The same may happen with holes where the Aracari Toucans sleep.
Among their own species the cotingas appear to be territorial, as no
other pairs of their own kind locate near them. The nesting period
seems to extend from the end of February through May.
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 293
I was interested to find them at 1850 meters elevation on the
slopes near Cerro Punta and to note that Monniche recorded them
to over 1600 meters above Boquete, in Chiriqui. Possibly they have
moved upward as the forests have been cleared, leaving the hill
slopes more open, with many dead trees standing that are always an
attraction to this species.
TITYRA SEMIFASCIATA COLUMBIANA Ridgway
Tityra semifasciata columbiana Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19,
September 6, 1906, p. 119. (La Concepcién, 900 meters elevation, north
slope, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia.)
Characters—Male paler, white to grayish white on lower surface,
only faintly darker above; female lighter colored, more grayish
brown above.
A male, taken at Armila, San Blas, March 7, 1963, had the iris
orange-brown; bare area of side of head, and the basal half of the bill,
dull wine-red ; tip of bill black, changing to neutral gray at the center ;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ; claws black. A female, taken at the
same time was like the male, except that the black area of the tip of
the bill was more extensive so that the neutral gray area at the center
was much restricted.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Province of Panama, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 111.2-119.8 (115.7), tail 62.5-69.3 (66.4), culmen
from base 25.0-26.4 (25.7), tarsus 24.3-26.8 (25.5) mm.
Females (7 from Darién and San Blas), wing 108.7-119.2 (114.5),
tail 62.7-68.5 (65.4), culmen from base 24.2—28.1 (26.4), tarsus
24.2-25.7 (25.0) mm.
Resident. Common in the Tropical Zone on both coasts; on the
Pacific side from San Antonio, beyond Chepo, on the lower Rio
Bayano, through Darién to the Colombian boundary ; to 850 meters at
Cana on Cerro Pirre. On the Caribbean side recorded to date only in
eastern San Blas from Permé eastward to Colombia.
Comparatively little is known in Panama of this paler race of the
species. I found it fairly common along the Rio Chiman and the Rio
Majé in eastern Province of Panama, but not in the hill country
inland. Probably here it may range among the dead stubs that
project above the dense foliage of the high tree crown where it is
hidden from view from the ground. It was common also in the upper
Tuira-Chucunaque Valley near the mouth of the Rio Paya and of the
Rio Tuquesa. It is known also from Santa Fé, Yaviza, and the Rio
Cupe. Barbour and Brooks took one on the slopes of Cerro Sapo back
294 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of Garachiné. In March 1964, I collected one at the old Tacarcuna
village site on the basal slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna. In 1946 it was
fairly common at Jaqué, Darién, but the following year I did not
find it inland along the upper reaches of the Rio Jaqué. On the
Caribbean side it has been recorded at Permé and Puerto Obaldia; I
found it also farther inland, back of Armila, between these localities.
Their diversity in choice of food is shown by the contents of two
stomachs from birds taken by Goldman at Cana, Darién. One was
filled with parts of three large drupes and a few seeds. The other
held fragments of two large orthoptera and parts of another smaller
kind.
Like the western race they are seen in the dead trees standing in
clearings, or less often on stubs that rise through the high tree crown,
visible in canoe travel along the larger rivers. In general mannerisms
the two forms are similar. I have found no record of the nest and
eggs of this subspecies. It may be noted that a set of two eggs in the
British Museum (Natural History) which are white without mark-
ings, with a distinct gloss, collected by T. K. Salmon at Remedios,
Antioquia, and attributed to this race, obviously are wrongly identi-
fied (see Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 517;
and Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Amer. Aves, vol. 2, 1890,
p. 119). It is probable that they are from a species of the family
Furnariidae.
ERATOR INQUISITOR (Lichtenstein): Black-crowned Becard,
Bacaco Pequenio
FIGURE 26
Lanius Inquisitor Lichtenstein, Verz. Doubl. Zool. Mus., 1823, p. 50. (Sao
Paulo, Brazil.)
Medium size; similar to the Masked Tityra but smaller, more
slender; male with crown and bill wholly black; female, forehead,
and side of head chestnut-brown.
Description—Length 165-180 mm. Lores and space around eye
fully feathered; bill flattened, opening of nostril close to frontal
feathering, gonys much longer than mandibular rami. Adult male,
ninth primary shortened, narrow, about half as long as eighth and
tenth ; crown, lores, base of mandible, line on lower eyelid and spot
beneath eye black; posterior margin of crown and nape clear white,
forming a broad band; lower hindneck, back, scapulars, inner wing
coverts, inner secondaries, rump, and upper tail coverts pale gray;
basal half of tail pale gray, white to grayish white on inner webs;
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 295
distal portion black tipped with white; wing and outer wing coverts
black: chin black ; rest of under surface, side of head, axillars, under
wing coverts, and inner webs of wing feathers white.
Adult female, frontal space, line above eye, and side of head chest-
nut; lores grayish white; rest of crown black; hindneck mixed
gray or grayish brown, spotted with black; back, scapulars, inner
wing coverts, secondaries, rump, and upper tail coverts, gray or
brown; basal half of tail gray or grayish brown; distal portion black,
WN
SY ~
\
AN
sat
~
\
S SS
WS
Mi
i
uN
WN a
IW
WN
m\ WS
N \
AS
Viv >
\y
wy f
Figure 26.—Black-crowned becard, bacaco pequefio, Erator inquisitor.
tipped narrowly with white; wing and outer wing coverts black, upper
foreneck, abdomen, axillars, under wing coverts, and inner margins of
wing feathers white; lower foreneck, breast, and sides pale gray.
Immature male, forehead white; crown feathers basally white that
shows irregularly in the black tips; side of head light chestnut ;
hindneck, back, and secondaries pale brownish gray, edged and
spotted indefinitely with white; under surface white, with the fore-
neck and breast mottled faintly with gray.
Immature female, crown and sides of head light chestnut, becom-
ing paler, mixed with white, on hindneck; posterior half and sides of
crown spotted and lined with black; back, scapulars, and upper tail
coverts pale brownish gray ; rump white; under surface white.
This becard, superficially a miniature of the Masked Tityra in
color and pattern of markings, but more slender in body, is found
296 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
with that species throughout most of its range. The two, though in
general similar, on close scrutiny differ definitely in important details.
The distinction was noted early by Kaup, when in 1852 he separated
Erator as a subgenus in his broader group Psaris, which included an
assemblage of the smaller cotingas. Ridgway, in his Birds of North
and Middle America (U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, pp. 777
in key, 860-861) noted the “close superficial resemblance to Tityra”
and gave a clear outline of the external differences for their distinc-
tion. In Erator these are the normal feathering of the side of the head
around the eye and the lores, the relatively flatter, longer bill, in
which the gonys is decidedly longer than the mandibular rami, and
the form and size of the hook at the end of the maxilla. The outer
side of the tarsus also has a row of large, more or less square scutes.
In Tityra, a broad space surrounding the eye and the lores is bare
except for a few scattered, hairlike bristles; the bill is stout and
arched, with a strong hook at the tip of the maxilla, and the
mandibular rami are as long as the gonys. The outer side of the
tarsus has small hexagonal scutes, similar to those on its back.
Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 6, 1929, p. 204) apparently did
not check these details as he united the two groups under the name
Tityra, remarking only that he did not “see any practical advantage
in subdividing this well-defined group.” The differences are readily
apparent. It may be noted in addition that in a series of skulls of
Tityra, represented by T. semifasciata and T. cayana, the base sup-
porting the external nares is ossified as a circlet of bone attached
to the premaxilla at the front of the nasal opening. In addition,
the anterior end of the frontal is considerably expanded at the front
of the orbit, and the lachrimal is enlarged. In Erator inquisitor the
nasal capsule is not ossified, except in the central septum, and the
lachrimal is slender. The two species groups, though differing so
definitely in structure, have thus an interesting superficial similarity
in appearance. In Venezuela both species have the native name
bacaco.
As recognized currently, Erator inquisitor ranges from southern
México south through Central America (except El Salvador) and
northern South America to western Ecuador, eastern Bolivia, north-
ern Argentina, Paraguay, and southeastern Brazil. Two of the six
geographic races recognized are found in Panama.
It may be noted that the three more southern geographic forms,
typical inquisitor, pelzelni, and erythrogenys in the adult male have
the side of the head completely black. In the other three, buckleyi,
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 297
albitorques, and fraserii, while the lores and the feathering at the
base of the mandibular rami are black, the side of the head below
and behind the eye is clear white. From material that I have seen it
is not wholly clear that these two groups actually intergrade.
ERATOR INQUISITOR FRASERII (Kaup)
Psaris Fraserii Kaup, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 19, 1851 (October 28, 1852)
p. 47, pls. 37, 38. (Veracruz, México.)
Characters ——Male, somewhat darker gray on breast and back;
female, definitely darker above; basal area of the tail darker gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Herrera, Coclé, and
Bocas del Toro), wing 103.9-107.3 (105.3), tail 58.2-65.8 (62.4),
culmen from base 23.0-25.7 (23.9), tarsus 20.1-22.1 (21.6) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Herrera,
Coclé, and San Blas), wing 98.2-103.6 (101.2), tail 57.5-61.8 (59.4),
culmen from base 22.7-26.4 (24.8), tarsus 21.0-22.4 (21.6) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common in forested areas from western
Chiriqui and western Bocas del Toro east on both slopes through the
Canal Zone; to 1280 meters at the lakes near El Volcan.
Though generally similar to the Masked Tityra, the two are easily
distinguished by their head markings, the male in the present species
having the bill and the crown wholly black, and the female by the
chestnut-brown cheeks and forehead. While the two kinds may range
in the same forested areas, Erator is found more often lower in the
trees, also frequently in smaller groups, with both sexes more or less
equally represented. In flight this smaller species shows more of a flash
of white on the under surface of the wings. It has grunting calls not
unlike those of Tityra semifasciata, but these seem more varied and
somewhat different in sound. Both kinds are seen regularly in close
proximity, and the two associate in this manner with no indication
of hostility.
In the only reports relative to nesting in the present species that
I have seen, that of Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128,
1964, p. 232) reports pairs of the subspecies fraserii and of the
Tityra “perched amicably beside their respective nesting holes in the
same forked stub.” Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp.
10-19) in a detailed life history in Costa Rica, found E. 1. fraseru
nesting in woodpecker holes that were inaccessible as they ranged
from 12 to 30 meters or more above the ground. The eggs remain
unknown. Often the holes chosen are in use by the woodpeckers as
sleeping quarters. As the female cotinga carries in leaves and other
298 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
bits of plant material for her nest, the woodpeckers for a time may
throw this out but finally move to other quarters. The female becard
incubates alone, but the male in due course assists in feeding the
young.
Kaup named this form for Louis Fraser (born 1819), at one time
curator at the Zoological Society of London, and later an associate in
connection with work on the collection of Lord Derby. According
to Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 6, 1929, p. 223) the type material,
now in the Liverpool Museum, includes three specimens. Two of
these, male and female from the Derby Museum, without data, are
typical of the present race, which also is the bird represented in the
plates published with the original description. The third specimen,
a male purchased from the dealer Leadbeater, also from the Derby
Museum, agrees with the race albitorques. Kaup’s measurements
for the bill apply only to the first male (original number 1868) which
was therefore selected as the type. As Kaup indicated no locality,
Hellmayr designated Veracruz, México.
In my work in the field I have found these birds in the scanty
remaining forests in Chiriqui, in the Burica Peninsula, near El
Volcan, and at Las Lajas in the eastern part of the province; also
near Almirante, Bocas del Toro. They were fairly common in
Herrera, in northern Azuero Peninsula, in 1948. In the northern
Canal Zone they are recorded rather regularly on Barro Colorado
Island. Two, a male and a female, taken near Mandinga, San Blas,
appear somewhat intermediate between this race and albitorques.
ERATOR INQUISITOR ALBITORQUES (Du Bus)
Tityra albitorques Du Bus, Bull. Acad. Roy. Belg., vol. 14, pt. 2, 1847, p. 104.
(Pert. )
Characters.—Male, lighter colored, paler gray on back and upper
tail coverts; female, dark gray above, from upper back to base of
tail ; usually lighter below.
A male taken at the old Tacarcuna village site on the upper Rio
Tacarcuna, Darién, March 6, 1964, had the iris wood brown; maxilla,
except base, and cutting edge of mandible, except basal one-fourth,
black ; side of maxilla at base from gape to below nostril, and rest of
mandible neutral gray; tarsus and toes somewhat brownish dark
neutral gray ; claws black.
A female, collected at Pucro, Darién, February 2, 1964, also had
the iris wood brown; a line on the side of the maxilla from the gape
to below nostril, and mandible, except for tip and anterior half of
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 299
cutting edge, neutral gray; rest of maxilla and of mandible dull
black; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws fuscous-black.
Measurements.—Males (12 from eastern Province of Panama,
Darién, and northwestern Colombia), wing 101.3-108.2 (105.0),
tail 60.2-66.0 (61.9), culmen from base 23.6-26.6 (24.8), tarsus
21.1-21.7 (21.4) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama, Darién, and north-
ern Colombia), wing 97.5-103.7 (100.2), tail 55.9-61.6 (59.0),
culmen from base 22.7-24.9 (23.8), tarsus 20.4-21.7 (21.1) mm.
Resident. Fairly common on the Pacific slope in eastern Province
of Panama from near Chepo eastward through Darien to the Co-
lombian boundary ; to 575-600 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna and Cerro
Pirre; on the Caribbean side at Puerto Obaldia, San Blas.
The only record to date for the Comarca de San Blas is a male
in the Field Museum of Natural History, taken May 15, 1931, by
Wedel at Puerto Obaldia.
In March and April I saw these birds in pairs, often at holes in
dead trees at the border of clearings or pastures. Both male and female
examined these cavities, and occasionally both carried nesting material
to them. Other than this the birds were noted in the forest, at times
high in the tree crown, but also in forest edge in the top of the under-
growth. Once, at Jaque, one male uttered the usual low calls in a
wheezy series that formed a song.
This subspecies ranges through northern Colombia to the Santa
Marta region and the Magdalena Valley.
QUERULA PURPURATA (P. L. S. Miiller): Purple-throated
Fruit-crow, Pajaro Toro
Muscicapa purpurata P. LS. Miller, Natursyst. Suppl., 1776, p. 169. (Cayenne. )
Large, black; adult male with iridescent purple-red throat.
Description.—Bill broad, depressed; head fully feathered. Length
255-275 mm. Male, glossy black above; somewhat duller on under
surface ; chin black; foreneck with elongate, narrow, stiffened, square-
ended feathers, dark reddish purple in color (with the hidden bases,
including this part of the feather shafts, white), expanded shieldlike
at sides and on the lower end.
Female, dull black throughout (without the throat shield).
Juvenile, crown, developing wings and tail dull black; rest of body
and the wing coverts brownish black, barred faintly and indistinctly
with black.
300 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The immature male, when grown, has the throat black like the
female.
A male, collected at El Llano, eastern Province of Panama,
February 9, 1962, had the iris dark wood brown; bare rims of eyelids
black, the lower lid with a narrow band of white feathers; tip of
maxilla black; rest of bill rather light neutral gray; tarsus and toes
slate-black ; claws black; inside of mouth pale neutral gray. Another,
taken near Armila, San Blas, March 7, 1963, had the iris clear brown;
tip of bill black, rest neutral gray; tarsus and toes dusky neutral
gray; claws black; under side of toe pads, dull honey yellow.
A female accompanying the male of March 7 was similar to it.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 179.5-187.5 (183.0), tail 106.4-112.4
(110.3), culmen from base 24.0-28.5 (26.3), tarsus 23.7-25.6 ©
(24.7) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Colén, Canal Zone, Darién,
and San Blas), wing 172.0-178.0 (174.8), tail 105.2-113.3 (109.1),
culmen from base 24.0-27.4 (25.8), tarsus 23.1-24.8 (23.9) mm.
Resident. Common locally in forested areas in the Tropical Zone.
On the Pacific side from the southern Canal Zone (K-9 Road, Chiva
Chiva, Pedro Miguel) to the Colombian boundary in eastern Darien ;
on the Caribbean side throughout, from western Bocas del Toro,
northern Veraguas and northern Coclé, Colon, northern Canal Zone,
and San Blas to Colombia. Recorded in Darién to about 575 meters
on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna, and near Cana, on Cerro Pirre. In
the Canal Zone they are common in the forests of the Atlantic slope.
Wandering groups occasionally appear on the Pacific side in the
suburban area of Balboa—more commonly along the valley of the Rio
Caimitillo.
The fruit-crow in Panama ranges in pairs or small groups of
several individuals in forested areas through the tree crown, where
their presence at a distance may be noted from their curious, loud
notes. The Cuna Indians from these call them Toatoa. Though indi-
viduals are not timid they may be difficult to see as they are not active
in movement, usually perching quietly among the leaves, or on larger
branches. The best views of them come as they fly across open
spaces above small plantations cleared in forest, or when they are
found feeding with trogons and other forest birds in fruiting trees.
They flutter out quickly to seize berries at the ends of branches, re-
turning immediately to more secure perches, where briefly they may
remain quiet. At such times males show a flash of color from the
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 301
somewhat iridescent purple throat, though usually this is hidden so
that they appear as plain black as their mates. On the wing, when
crossing rivers or other openings, the flight appears slow and tilting,
and the birds seem heavy in body. Occasionally, when I have whistled
a rapid imitation of the call, a group has come into branches overhead,
where they moved about quickly and excitedly.
In calling, males swell the throat so that the gorget stands out like
a shield. And as birds alight after flight they may shake the tail
quickly from side to side. Sick (Living Bird, Cornell Lab. Orn.,
1967, p. 20) in Brazil suggests that the “courtship, accompanied
by loud and continuous calls, resembles the display of manakins in
several ways: a moustache display . . . a quivering of flight feathers
that recalls Pipra; a melodious voice.”
On the Rio Chucunaque in Darién, at the end of March I saw two
fly across the river, with one carrying a slender spray of nesting
material. Eisenmann (Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 117, 1952,
p. 38) noted a pair building a nest on Barro Colorado Island on
June 28, 1951. Apparently incubation had begun on July 14. Hazel
Ellis (Wils. Bull., 1952, pp. 98-100) in further observation at this
site noted that the pair came together, with the male carrying most
of the nesting material, but with the female arranging it in place.
The nest was not accessible. In Surinam, Haverschmidt (Birds of
Surinam, 1968, p. 284) reported a nest located in a tree ‘“‘at that time
leafless, at a height of about 20 meters at the edge of a forest.” He
also saw a male building a nest.
In a detailed study in Guyana, Snow (Living Bird, Cornell Lab.
Orn., 1971, pp. 5-17) found fruit-crows associated in groups of three
or four individuals that were “closely integrated social groups which
not only feed, rest, preen and almost certainly roost together, but also
jointly attend a single nest.” The two nests that he studied in detail
were cup-shaped, loosely built of vegetable fibers on a base of small
sticks. They were placed in trees standing in forest. One nest was
about 10 meters, the other 20 meters or so above the ground. Each
nest tree was closely guarded by its group against intrusion by toucans,
jays, caciques, and other birds. At one nest the attendants included
two males, a female, and one other, a bird in female dress but with
two red feathers on one side of the throat. The other nest was at-
tended by three individuals, a male and two birds in black plumage,
one certainly a female, the other probably of that sex.
In the first nest only the female brought building material but one
male occasionally sat in the structure, apparently to assist in shaping
302 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the material. The single egg, incubated by the female alone, hatched
in 25 days. While the group of four all fed the nestling, one male
appeared to do the greatest part. Though the nest was inaccessible,
when the egg hatched half of the shell was found on the ground
below. It was “exceedingly dark with a deep olive ground color rather
thickly covered with blackish brown markings.” (This is the only
note on egg color seen.) The nestling was “covered in buff-colored
down.” The second nest mentioned was not successful.
Dr. R. M. Strong (Auk, 1952, pp. 199-200, fig. 1) has described
the microscopic structure of the throat feathers in the male as chang-
ing in appearance in reflected light from red to orange. ‘This change
takes place in the distal exposed portion . . . the feather structure
consists of highly-modified, barbuleless barbs. These barbs are
flattened and twisted so as to present a maximum surface area for
color reflection. Cross-sections reveal features which are unique in
my experience. . . . There is an outer layer that is almost too thin
to be called a cortex . . . only two to four microns thick. This cortex
or cuticle covers a... pigmented, central core which has a maximum
thickness of about 20 microns . . . when viewed by transmitted light
. . is orange red in color.”
Through the extensive range of this species, from northeastern
Costa Rica through Central America, and in northern South America
to Peru, Bolivia, the Amazon Valley in northern Brazil, and the
Guianas, these birds appear uniform in size and color so that no
geographic races have been recognized.
PROCNIAS TRICARUNCULATA (J. and E. Verreaux):
Three-wattled Bellbird, Calandria
Ficures 27 and 28
Casmarhynchus tricarunculatus J. and E. Verreaux, Rev. Mag. Zool., ser. 2,
vol. 5, May 1853, p. 193. (Bocas del Toro, Panama.)
Size large, body heavy; male, head white, body chestnut-rufous ;
female, olive-green above; underneath yellow streaked with olive-
green.
Description—Adult male, forehead and loral region bare except for
small scattered bristles and small downy feathers; eyelids also bare
except for a line of feathers around edge; bill broad at base, flattened,
with the mouth large, the rictus extended back beneath the eye; a
slender fleshy wattle attached to the corner of the mouth on each
side, with a third arising from the base of the bill adjacent to the
forehead, all three dangling, pendant over the neck and breast to a
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 303
length of 100 mm or more, soft and flexible, wormlike in form; entire
head, neck, and chest pure white; rest of the plumage, including
wings and tail, chestnut-rufous; breast feathers white basally.
Female, forehead and lores feathered; upper surface greenish
olive, the feathers margined indistinctly with yellowish green; fore-
\ \
NKR)
. Ay »
a
Figure 27.—Three-wattled bellbird, calandria, Procnias tricarunculata, male.
head, space around eye and sides of head spotted and streaked faintly
with dull yellow; under surface yellow, streaked heavily with olive-
green, except the under tail coverts; throat and under wing coverts
with the darker markings restricted or absent; rarely with one or
more chestnut-rufous feathers on the breast.
Immature male, like the female, but with anterior forehead and
loral area mainly bare, and the throat and upper foreneck plain yellow
or only faintly streaked. As the bird matures, chestnut-rufous
feathers appear scattered over the breast.
An adult male, taken on Isla Cébaco, Veraguas, January 11, 1965,
had the iris dark brown; bill black, with the posterior two-thirds
of the cutting edges (upper and lower) dull neutral gray; bare skin
at base of bill and around eye blackish slate; long pendant wattles
dusky neutral gray; inside of mouth, including entire tongue, deep
black (this color extending the full length of the gullet to the
304 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
stomach) ; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws brownish gray;
basal pads underneath toes yellowish.
A juvenile male, taken at the same time, was similar except that
the tarsi, toes, and claws were blackish slate.
A female collected at this locality January 13, had the iris dark
wood brown; maxilla, except posterior cutting edge, and tip of
mandible black ; rest of maxilla and of mandible dull greenish neutral
gray, somewhat paler along cutting edge; thickened edge of eyelids
Figure 28.—Three-wattled bellbird, calandria, Procnias tricarunculata, female.
and partly bare skin on chin, lores, area back of eye, and forehead
dull slate; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws fuscous-black ;
under side of toes dull yellowish.
Adult females have a very slight development of the lateral wattles
at the posterior angles of the mouth. In immature males these and
the one of the forehead begin growth early. As these grow, they
hang down, swinging freely and casually as the birds move about.
Ancient representations of these birds showing the wattles standing
stiffened and extended have no basis in fact.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, and Los
Santos), wing 163-177 (168), tail 99.8-112.7 (105.0), culmen from
base 17.1-19.7 (18.1), tarsus 28.0-30.8 (29.6) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and
Veraguas), wing 145.7-168.0 (155.5), tail 95.2-109.0 (101.0), cul-
men from base 17.6-22.5 (19.3), tarsus 25.2-30.5 (27.9) mm.
The measurement of the culmen is taken from the base of the
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 305
ramphotheca which is at or slightly behind the level of the posterior
edge of the narial opening. (In some specimens it may be necessary
to determine this point with the aid of a magnifier. )
Resident. Found widely in areas of heavy forest, from the Costa
Rican boundary in western Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro through
Veraguas to the mountains in the southern end of the Azuero
Peninsula; from sea level to over 2000 meters elevation on Volcan
Bart ; Isla Cébaco.
The bellbird is still fairly common in the remoter areas of forest,
but without question has decreased considerably in number, partly
through being hunted, and partly through destruction of its habitat.
It ranges mainly in the high tree crown, where its presence remains
unknown unless it calls. The birds rest usually on open perches but
these often are screened from below by leaves. Where not unduly
disturbed by hunters, as on Isla Cébaco, I have found them fairly
tame so that they were easily seen as they moved about. But more
often they were heard rather than seen as the strident calls came from
birds distant in the forest.
Males when calling rest with the body inclined forward, and large
mouth wide open. Crandall (Zoologica, 1948, pp. 113-114, pl. 1)
noted in an immature male in captivity that in display the bird
“brought the body into a stiffly horizontal position, held high on the
legs. . . . The mouth is opened widely, until the lower mandible ap-
proximates a right angle to the upper. . . . The body is then pumped
rapidly up and down for about five seconds. This movement then
ceases and with the body, legs and wings rigid, a violent convulsion
of the throat and neck is followed by the sharp metallic bell.” Skutch
(Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 89, 91) noted a form of display
in which the male at the end of a call flew forward horizontally for a
short distance, reversed in air, and returned to the original perch.
The notes, heard in the forest, may vary somewhat but all have
resonance that carries far. Commonly, near at hand, I have heard
them utter a high-pitched whistled double note, whit see, given rather
slowly, followed by the harsher, loud metallic call, uttered with mouth
fully open. Also they may begin with a resounding note, followed
immediately by two to four others, all of clanging sound but not as
loud, and given slowly, spaced one or two seconds apart.
While often they move about rather slowly, they seem more alert
and active than others of the family.
As I had found bellbirds on several journeys in the mountain
forests of Chiriqui, and had come to associate them with such haunts,
it was a surprise in January 1958 to find them in the swampy wood-
306 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
land on the shore of Bahia Almirante. Here they moved about freely,
paying little attention to me. On my first encounter with them here,
at least 20 were seen within a distance of less than a kilometer. On
Isla Cébaco a number lived on a wooded hill, moving about from
near the beach to an elevation of 200 meters. Here they were feeding
on dark-colored drupes, which made an inklike stain in the body
cavity of those prepared for specimens.
Older accounts list specimens taken by Arcé from Cordillera de
Tolé, Chiriqui; Calobre and Calovévora, Veraguas. Griscom re-
corded them as common on Cerro Flores, eastern Chiriqui, in 1924.
In 1962 Dr. Charles Handley, Jr., found them on the summit of
Cerro Hoya at the southern end of the Azuero Peninsula in Los
Santos, the most eastern point at which they are known. In my own
work in the field, in addition to the localities mentioned, I noted the
species also in the forest at Aguacaton in the upper end of the Burica
Peninsula. Whether in Panama they shift after the nesting season
from colder, higher elevations in the mountains to lowland areas, as
they are reported to do in Costa Rica, is uncertain from present data.
Ridgway in his outline of records of occurrence (U.S. Nat. Mus.
Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, p. 883) listed one from “20 miles from City
of Panama,” quoting the locality from the data on the label of a male.
The bird came to the National Museum in a small collection purchased
in May 1887 in Panama City. From its appearance it was one pre-
pared by Arcé and without question was taken in western Panama.
Though the bird, called calandria, is widely known, I found no
one with knowledge of its nesting.
The species ranges beyond Panama north through Honduras.
CEPHALOPTERUS GLABRICOLLIS Gould: Bare-necked
Umbrellabird, Pajaro Danta
Cephalopterus glabricollis Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 18, 1850 (March
14, 1851), p. 92, pl. 20. (Cordillera of Chiriqui, Panama. )
Very large, wholly black; heavy body, short tail; with elongated
feathers on the crown, forming a crest.
Description.—Length 380-450 mm. Adult male, with a large crest,
when erected extending from above the bill in front, over the crown
and down the back of the neck; throat and upper foreneck feathered ;
middle and lower neck and upper breast (including the sides of this
area) bare except for a narrow central line of rudimentary feathers ;
an elongate, fleshy appendage on center of lower foreneck, tipped
with long, narrow feathers; coloration black throughout, except for
FAMILY COTINGIDAE 307
dark grayish under wing coverts and under surface of the wings.
Adult female, crest reduced, short and bushy ; bare area of foreneck
and upper breast less in extent, with a smaller central wattle, and
heavier central feathering ; black above, dull slaty black below ; wings
as in male.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Bocas del
Toro, and Costa Rica), wing 244.0-256.0 (247.1), tail 109.0-127.3
(116.4), culmen from base 27.0-34.3 (30.8), tarsus 43.0-47.2
(44.7) mm.
Females (8 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica),
wing 213.0-240.0 (221.0), tail 100.0-121.0 (108.8), culmen from
base 28.5-34.9 (31.3), tarsus 38.5-45.9 (40.8) mm.
Resident. Rare; found locally in high, humid forests of Chiriqui,
adjacent Bocas del Toro, and Veraguas.
This species was first brought to attention by Gould at a meeting
of the Zoological Society of London on May 14, 1850, when he dis-
played the type specimen with the statement that it came from the
“high Cordillera of Chiriqui in Veragua, at an elevation of 8000 feet.”
The bird was collected by Warszewicz in 1849 in crossing the Isthmus
on the old trail from Laguna de Chiriqui to David, through the
mountains above Boquete. While the type locality is listed as in
Chiriqui, it is probable that the bird was obtained on the northern
slope in what is now Bocas del Toro at an elevation of 1600 meters or
less. The species is known in Panama from relatively few specimens
as it seems never to have been common. Arcé in 1866 took two males
in the Cordillera de Tolé, one of them now in the British Museum,
and the other in the U.S. National Museum, obtained in an exchange
with Salvin. Arcé also collected a male at Calovévora (Veraguas)
in 1868. The mention by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870,
p. 201) of one from Calobre may have been in error for Calovévora,
as this locality is not included in any later account. W. W. Brown,
Jr., collected a male and two females above Boquete in March and
April 1901. Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, pp. 534—535)
lists two, male and female, in the Monniche collection, taken July 14,
1933, from 1460 meters at Cedral, Bocas del Toro, on the trail to
the north coast. The only recent specimens are a female, given to me
by Ratibor Hartmann, that he shot and prepared at the headwaters of
the Rio Changuena, between Cerro Fabrega and Cerro Robalo, in
Bocas del Toro, July 9, 1960, and one in the Gorgas Laboratory
collection taken at Boca del Drago on the coast of Bocas del Toro,
August 25, 1960. On July 17, 1964, N. G. Smith saw two on the
308 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Finca Lérida at about 1600 meters above Boquete.
There is little recorded concerning this bird in Panama, except that
it is a forest inhabitant. In Costa Rica, where it is known as the
Pajaro Danta (tapir bird) or Pavoncillo (little peacock), it is found
on the Caribbean slope, ranging to the higher levels in the mountains.
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 233) says that
it moves lower down after nesting. Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus.,
vol. 6, 1910, p. 661) found a pair near sea level on the Rio Sixaola,
and collected the female.
Charles Cordier (Anim. King., vol. 46, 1943, pp. 1-10), who
captured two males and a female alive for the New York Zoological
Society, in observations on the upper Rio San Carlos in northern
Costa Rica in April and May 1942, found a group of males in daily
display. Each had one to three perches for this purpose, some within
5 meters of the ground, others higher. As the birds move about,
one may hold several thin twigs in its bill. In calling, the male “fills
out his airsack, which is bright scarlet, to the size of a big tomato,
the feather-tipped, fleshy wattle attached to the airsack becoming
greatly extended and hanging down 3 or 4 inches [75 to 100 milli-
meters]. When the airsack is distended the boom is produced. Then
he suddenly throws his head violently back, far back, and quickly
forward again, expelling the air with a swishing sound closely re-
sembling the spitting of a big cat. He immediately fills his airsack
again and lets forth another boom, but now he expels the air without
going through any contortion or sound.’’ Cordier saw no eggs or
young, but three nests shown to him as of this bird “resembled over-
size thrush nests. All were placed 4 to 6 feet from the ground between
the trunk of a medium-sized tree and a branch.” The egg is as yet
unknown.
Sick (Journ. f. Orn., 1954, pp. 240-243) described the nest of the
related Cephalopterus ornatus in Brazil as located in a tree 12 meters
above the ground. It was made of twigs so loosely placed that when
an egg was laid it was visible through the bottom of the nest from the
ground. The egg was described as khaki-brown with dark brown
and lilac markings, round at the ends of the egg, longer in the
middle, fused to cover most of the larger end. The egg measured
56.0 35.8 mm. As shown in a photograph that accompanies the
account, it is somewhat pointed subelliptical in form.
The present species has been listed as a geographic race of
Cephalopterus ornatus of South America which in the male and fe-
male has the throat and foreneck entirely feathered. In the Central
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 309
American bird the male has only the space on the throat immediately
below the bill feathered, the rest of the foreneck and upper breast,
with the sides, being completely bare, with the skin brightly colored.
The female also has this area partly bare. The two groups are so
distinct and so widely separated geographically that subspecific status
is not justified.
Family PIPRIDAE: Manakins, Saltarines
This family of South American origin is closely related to the
cotingas, with the possibility that the two when more fully known may
not be separable at the family level. In present understanding the 56
species recognized are resident in tropical areas, mainly in the
southern continent, but with 11 that range into Panama. Beyond the
isthmus to the north they diminish rapidly in variety, with six kinds
recorded in Honduras, and finally only four that reach southern
México. Size in most is small, with males marked by contrasting
patterns of brilliant color, and the females by plain, dull coloration.
Manakins are inhabitants of thickets and forested lands, living
partly on berries, and partly on a variety of insects. The smaller kinds
do not form pairs, but in the nesting season males gather in as-
semblages spread through the forest cover. Here each has a small,
open display area where the ground is cleared of leaves and other
debris. For part of the day, especially in morning, they rest on
branches above or at the side. When females appear the males with
low calls and a variety of explosive noises move quickly over the space
for display. The sounds that mark their movements are not vocal,
but are produced mechanically by abrupt activities of the wings
in which some of the feathers are thickened or otherwise specialized.
After mating, females seek suitable cover in which to build nests,
lay their eggs, and begin incubation. Males have no part in this, nor
do they assist in feeding the young. The mating displays readily
attract attention, and with patience may be observed without especial
difficulty. The nests in the dense cover of forest are less easily
located as the females move and live quietly so that they are little
noticed. Nests and eggs of a number of kinds remain unknown.
Early specimens of the family came to European naturalists from
Surinam where in the Dutch of that day they were called “Man-
neken,” meaning male birds. From this Brisson proposed for these
early specimens the genus Manacus which remains the name for a
group of the better known kinds.
Schiffornis turdinus, with its anatomy understood only in part, is
310 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
an aberrant entity in this family, especially in its larger size. Another
is Sapayoa aenigma, as yet also little known. It is probable that both
may prove to be allied to the cotingid group of species.
KEY TO SPECIES OF PIPRIDAE
1. Two central tail feathers longer than those on either side; with tips
narrowed and pointed.
Lance-tailed Manakin, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, p. 331
Central tail feathers normal; not elongated or sharply pointed....... 2
2. Larger, 135-165 mm long; with tail longer (tail 56-70, wing 80-93 mm). 17
Smaller, 75-125 mm long; with tail shorter (tail 17-48, wing
AAS JO. STURN) 9 bass chalet lardl a Aiea ea cic br cal near es taad ENA Sete 3
3. Rictal bristles more evident ; those over nostril longer.
Green Manakin, Chloropipo holochlora litae, p. 324
Rictal bristles not prominent, only slightly evident.................. 4
4. Back, wings, and tail black or blue-black (males).................. 5
Dorsal surface greenish olive to dull buffy brown (females and immature
TELA SI oda Pife eset Asya Ac gy TUR ee aR TR CoRe IIR eats EP RRE ek oy cue aha 6
5. Upper surface, including crown, uniform blue-black.
White-ruffed Manakin, Corapipo altera, p. 325
Upper Surface nat uniformly blacks. .6 wou Lake ee a a ae i
6. Crown and hindneck dull brownish gray; back and rump dull green.
White-crowned Manakin, Pipra pipra anthracina, females and
immature males, p. 322
Crown, “back ‘and rump. uniformly colored: .. 00.2. haan eee 12
a Crown, black like back (males yoo. 1 Ue a2) sere Bee eA 8
Crown ‘differing from back iu color (males). 5.32252 4.6.0 9
8. Hindneck, side of head, and throat yellow to light orange; larger.
Golden-collared Manakin, Manacus vitellinus, p. 334
Hindneck, side of head, and throat bright orange; smaller.
Orange-collared Manakin, Manacus aurantiacus, p. 343
9. Lores and side of head black (bright coloration restricted to crown).. 10
Crown, side of head, and hindneck all brightly colored............. 11
10. Crown and somewhat elongated crest white.
White-crowned Manakin, Pipra pipra anthracina, p. 322
Crown and slightly elongated crest bright blue.
Blue-crowned Manakin, Pipra coronata, p. 311
11. Head, hindneck, and side of head bright red.
Red-capped Manakin, Pipra mentalis ignifera, p. 314
Head, hindneck, and side of head orange.
Golden-headed Manakin, Pipra e. erythrocephala, p. 319
12. Upper surface uniform, somewhat dull green.
Blue-crowned Manakin, Pipra coronata, female and immature, p. 311
Upper’ surface ‘dull ‘brownish’ butt... ore. ee ee 13
13.\Lower sutiace’ brighter; ‘morésbudl). cS ee ba ee 14
Lower » surface duller; more jerayish. ith... .eeeaocalanseeo keene 15
14. Larger, wing more than 50 mm; slightly duller colored.
Golden-collared Manakin, Manacus vitellinus, female and immature, p. 334
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 311
15. Throat pale gray; darker, greener above.
White-ruffed Manakin, Corapipo altera, female and immature, p. 325
Throat yellowish to greenish; dorsal surface duller, buffier......... 16
16. Paler on lower surface, especially on abdomen.
Golden-headed Manakin, Pipra e. erythrocephala, female and
immature, p. 319
Duller, grayer on lower surface ; darker above.
Red-capped Manakin, Pipra mentalis ignifera, female and immature, p. 314
17. Dull brown to olive-brown above; grayish olive with a rusty brown
band on breast....... Thrushlike Manakin, Schiffornis turdinus, p. 346
Olive-green above; greenish yellow below; male with a concealed yellow
streak in the crown....Broad-billed Manakin, Sapayoa aenigma, p. 353
PIPRA CORONATA Spix: Blue-crowned Manakin, Saltarin
Corona Azul
Pipra coronata Spix, Av. Spec. Nov. Bras., vol. 2, 1825, p. 5, pl. 7, fig. 1. (Sao
Paulo de Olivenga, Rio Solimdes, Amazonas, Brazil.)
Small; adult male, black with bright blue crown; female green
above, with grayish green breast.
Description.—Length 80-90 mm. Adult male, crown, bright blue ;
forehead, side of head, body, wings, and tail black.
Adult female, forehead grayish white basally, tipped with rather
dull green; rest of crown, hindneck, back, scapulars, inner wing
coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts dull green; primaries, second-
aries, and outer wing coverts dusky edged with dull green; tail
dusky, edged with dull green; chin grayish, edged indistinctly with
dull green; foreneck, breast, sides, and flanks dull green; abdomen
and under tail coverts somewhat dull olive-yellow ; axillars and under
wing coverts pale greenish white.
Juvenile male, in general like female, usually duller green above,
and more grayish underneath ; rarely with a bluish shade on back and
rump. Young males change rapidly to the black adult plumage.
The Blue-crowned Manakin ranges widely from southern Costa
Rica southward through Panama and Colombia to Ecuador, eastern
Peru, western Brazil, and southern Venezuela. Two subspecies,
differing slightly in size, and depth of color in the males, are found in
Panama. The race of the eastern area of the Isthmus is the more
common and widely spread form.
One of the older records of this species by Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1867, p. 149) for “Santiago de Veragua,” cited also by
Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1890, p. 110)
as “Santiago de Veraguas,” appears to be in error, as the bird has not
been recorded otherwise in that area, and I have found no specimen
with that locality data in the Salvin-Godman collections.
312 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
PIPRA CORONATA VELUTINA Berlepsch
Pipra velutina Berlepsch, Ibis, ser. 5, vol. 1, no. 4, October 1883, p. 492.
(“Veragua” = western Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters.—Slightly larger; male, less solidly black; female
slightly lighter green.
A female collected February 25, 1966, at Punta Balsa, Chiriqui,
at the lower end of the Burica Peninsula, had the iris dark reddish
brown; maxilla black; mandible bluish neutral gray; tarsus, toes,
and claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
59.4-63.8 (61.6), tail 24.4-27.7 (26.3), culmen from base 9.6-11.3
(10.4), tarsus 13.5-14.4 (14.0) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 58.7-62.8
(60.4), tail 24.9-27.7 (26.4), culmen from base 9.9-11.5 (10.9),
tarsus 12.6-14.6 (13.6) mm.
Resident. Locally in western Chiriqui and western Bocas del Toro.
The western subspecies is little known in Panama. Arcé sent
specimens to Salvin from Bugaba in western Chiriqui. W. W.
Brown, Jr., found it in numbers at Divala, from October to December
1900, and collected 18 specimens. Apparently it now is rare in that
area, as in my own field work I found it only on three occasions. I
collected a female, March 2, 1960, in a small tract of woodland on
the Rio Gariché, 15 kilometers west of Concepcién; on February 25,
1966, another in undergrowth at Punta Balsa, 5 kilometers north of
Punta Burica; and March 12, 1966, a third at Olivo, north of Puerto
Armuelles. In western Bocas del Toro Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 71, 1931, p. 327) recorded male and female from Crica-
mola, taken by von Wedel, August 19 and 21, 1928.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969, pp. 97-109) has found
several males grouped near one another in undergrowth in court-
ship assemblies. The individuals range 25 meters or so apart, each
with its own display area 5 to 10 meters in diameter. Here they
spend much of their time calling and singing as they rest on small,
horizontal branches, 3 or 4 meters above the ground. Occasionally one
flits his wings or makes short flights to other perches. Periodically
he drops down in the undergrowth where he flies back and forth
irregularly, finally stopping on a special low perch “‘where with de-
pressed head and beating wings he emits a harsh, grating note.” Here
the female comes and mates.
The nest, built by the female alone, is a shallow cup made of light-
colored fibers, attached by the rim in a small fork, from half a
meter to 2 meters above the ground. Tufts of dead leaves and green
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 313
moss hang from the bottom. The two eggs are dull white to pale gray,
marked with light and dark brown, varied in some to rufous-brown,
most heavily in a band around the large end. Measurements from
23 eggs ranged from 18.3 12.7 to 21.0X 15.7 mm. The female re-
mained alone during incubation and the care of the young. The
scanty down on the young at hatching is light or dark flesh color, but
quickly becomes darker. The nestlings were fed insects and the pulp
of berries, the standard food of the adult.
PIPRA CORONATA MINUSCULA Todd
Pipra velutina minuscula Todd, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 32, June 27,
1919, p. 115. (Quibd6, Chocd, Colombia. )
Characters.—Slightly smaller; male, deeper black; female slightly
more green.
An adult male, collected on the Rio Boqueron, near the Peluca
Hydrographic Station, Panama, February 23, 1961, had the iris bright
reddish brown; mandible and a narrow line on the cutting edge of the
maxilla neutral gray; rest of maxilla black; tarsus, toes, and claws
black. An immature male (in plumage stage like the female), taken
at the same place and date, had the iris wood brown, with other mark-
ings as in the adult. At Armila, San Blas, February 21, 1963, an adult
male, had the iris reddish brown; maxilla black; mandible dark
neutral gray; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws black. An
immature male in green dress (resembling the female) taken there
February 23 was similar to the adult.
Measurements——Males (10 from western Province of Panama,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 56.6-58.8 (57.7), tail 24.2-26.2 (25.5),
culmen from base 8.8-10.0 (9.4), tarsus 13.0-14.6 (13.8) mm.
Females (10 from Darién and San Blas), wing 54.0-58.2 (56.2),
tail 23.8-26.6 (25.0), culmen from base 9.4-10.6 (10.0), tarsus
13.0-14.1 (13.4) mm.
Resident. Locally common from western Colon and the Canal
Zone, east in the eastern Provinces of Panama and Colon through
Darién and San Blas.
In early collecting McLeannan secured several specimens, ap-
parently from near his station at Lion Hill. Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 268) recorded a female taken by
Jewel at Gatun, July 30, 1911. In 1952, I found several on the Rio
Indio, in western Colon from near the mouth inland to El Uracillo
in extreme northern Coclé. A male in the Museum of Vertebrate
Zoology at Berkeley was taken at Pifia, western Colon by R. W.
Noyes, September 5, 1947. To the east I secured one on the eastern
314 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
end of Cerro Azul, April 23, 1949, and others at Mandinga, San
Blas, January 25, 1957. Goldman in 1911 collected a male June 3
near the Rio Cascajal east of Portobelo, and a female June 7 on
Cerro Bruja. Eastward, to the Colombian boundary the form is more
common on both slopes. I found it near Mandinga in January 1957,
and in the Chagres Valley back of Madden Lake in 1961. Thomas
Barbour collected it on Cerro Sapo, and at Jesucito in 1922. It was
common at Jaqué in 1946, and on the upper Rio Jaqué in 1947, in
eastern Darién. It is recorded at several localities on the Rio Tuira
and the Chucunaque to 575 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna.
Commonly, I have found these birds in undergrowth in forest,
often resting quietly. Also at times they have been in small groups in,
or immediately below, the high tree crown. As they move they often
flit the wings quickly, and then fly rapidly. While not noisy, I heard
them give rattling calls and also a faint, trilling song. At Armila,
San Blas, males displayed by flying with fully spread wings through
dark, heavily shaded undergrowth, an action that made them appear
twice their usual size. These evidently were on their mating as-
semblies.
PIPRA MENTALIS IGNIFERA Bangs: Red-capped Manakin,
Saltarin Cabecicolorado
FIGURE 29
Pipra mentalis ignifera Bangs, Auk, vol. 18, no. 4, October 1901, p. 363. (Divala,
Chiriqui, Panama. )
Small; male, crown and hindneck bright red, body black; female
and immature male, greenish olive above, somewhat paler on lower
surface, with foreneck and abdomen yellowish olive.
Description—Length 90-100 mm. Adult male, inner secondaries
stiffened, with the shafts somewhat enlarged for two-thirds of the
length, compressed laterally, projecting slightly in the center on the
lower side. Chin yellow, or yellowish white; rest of head and hind-
neck bright red, the feathers white to pale yellow basally; axillars
and inner under wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of primaries
grayish brown, of secondaries pale yellow; rest of plumage black.
Adult female, upper surface greenish olive; lower foreneck and
breast paler olive; throat, abdomen, tibia, and under tail coverts dull
greenish yellow; axillars and under wing coverts pale yellow; inner
margins of wing feathers pale grayish brown.
Immature male, like female, often with a trace of red in the crown.
In adult males, the iris in several specimens varied from ivory-
FAMILY PIPRIDAE BI5
white to yellowish white or pale yellow; maxilla and usually the tip
of the mandible light to dark brown or fuscous, often darker at the
tip ; tip of mandible in most dark like the maxilla, shading to brownish
white at the base; tarsus light brown to dull brown, with the toes
similar, or in some fuscous; claws grayish brown to wood brown.
Female, iris dark brown to mouse brown, occasionally pale yellow ;
maxilla and tip of mandible dull wood brown to fuscous, in some with
the cutting edge of maxilla and mandible paler; tarsus and toes dull
brown to dull neutral gray; in some the gape dull orange.
Measurements.—Males (16 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Canal
Zone, Province of Panama, and western San Blas), wing 54.5-59.6
(56.2), tail 23.2-26.9 (23.6), culmen from base 9.9-12.0 (10.7),
tarsus 13.4-15.9 (14.3, average of 15) mm.
Females (18 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Province of Panama,
Canal Zone, and western San Blas), wing 55.4-61.2 (58.0), tail 24.0-
28.5 (26.1), culmen from base 10.0-12.6 (11.4), tarsus 13.3-15.8
(14.3) mm.
Weights 13.4-14.7 grams in three females, recorded by R. S.
Crossin near Gamboa.
Resident. Locally common in the Tropical Zone; from the Costa
Rican boundary, on the Pacific slope in Chiriqui, and southern
Veraguas east locally to the base of Cerro Chucanti, in the Serrania de
Majé. (It is not known from the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula
and the savanna area, in Coclé and western Province of Panama.)
On the Caribbean side, locally east from the Costa Rican boundary
in Bocas del Toro through northern Veraguas and Coclé, and western
Comarca de San Blas (Mandinga) ; to 600 meters elevation in the
Cerro Azul.
The race was named by Bangs from a series of specimens taken by
W. W. Brown, Jr., near Divala in the final months of 1900. Earlier,
Arcé had collected specimens at Bugaba in this same region, and at
Mina de Chorcha near David. As the Red-crowned Manakin primarily
is a forest inhabitant it is now greatly restricted in abundance in this
area in Chiriqui due to clearing for agriculture. On June 1, 1953,
I collected an adult female in low second growth at La Isleta on the
Rio San Pablo, below Sona, Veraguas, in an area where there were
many Manacus aurantiacus. Dr. John Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleve-
land Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 7, 1937, pp. 92-93) found this manakin
common near Paracoté, where the Rio Angulo enters the north-
western shore of Bahia Montijo. There is no record beyond this
point through the southern and eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula
310 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and across the open savannas of southern Coclé. The National
Museum has a male from Chorrera, eastern Province of Panama and
others from northern Canal Zone (K-6 Road). Beyond this I have
found it on the Cerro Azul, near Chepo (in the San Antonio area on
the eastern side of the Rio Mamoni), at El Llano, Cafiita, Chiman,
and at 300 meters elevation on Cerro Chucanti, near the base of the
Serrania de Majé. From near Chepo to Cerro Chucanti the range
overlaps that of Pipra e. erythrocephala for a distance of 100
kilometers.
On the Caribbean slope it is found from near the Costa Rican
boundary in Bocas del Toro east through northern Veraguas,
northern Coclé, western Colon, the lower Chagres Valley in the
Canal Zone, and the eastern Province of Panama, eastern Colon
(Frijolito, Puerto Pilon, Portobelo), and western Comarca de San
Blas (Mandinga). Record of a female from Cana, Darién, by Gris-
com (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 179; idem, vol. 78,
p. 343) was in error, as the specimen which I have examined is Pipra
e. erythrocephala.
The birds of central Panama have been listed previously as minor
but may not be separated from ignifera. As noted below true minor
differs in bill size and other characters.
In western Panama the males are called aji, because of the head
which has the color of a ripe hot pepper.
This mainly is a forest species, ranging in the upper level of the
undergrowth, but seems adaptable to some degree as at times it is
found also in open areas in thickets and second growth. The food
consists of berries and a variety of insects, including small caterpillars.
The birds may come at times to the taller feeding trees, but more
usually find their food at lower levels. They flutter out among the
leaves to seize a berry or some insect prey, and then return to a perch.
Larger insects are beaten to prepare them to be swallowed. During
the nesting season, males, females, and fully grown young males in
immature plumage may gather in scattered company. In the breeding
season, from December to May, adult males choose display perches in
forest, elevated from 5 to 10 meters above the ground. Such vantage
points are occupied for much of the day. Several males may locate
within sight of one another. Here the females visit them, as these
birds do not join in pairs. While the visit of a female may stimulate
display activity in other males nearby, these remain on their individual
perches, the choice of mate apparently being that of the female.
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 317
Figure 29.—Red-capped manakin, saltarin cabecicolorado, Pipra mentalis
ignifera.
My observations of mating display are closely similar to those
recorded by others. Near Mandinga, eastern San Blas, on February 7,
1957, I found a group in high forest where the males alternately
moved actively about, or rested motionless for a minute or two until
roused again to activity. Certain branches from 15 to 25 millimeters
in diameter that grew transversely to the ground were chosen for
display. A male would dash in suddenly to alight on one of them,
stiffen with the body posed at a 45° angle with the perch, and then
with rapid, mincing steps slide back and forth for a short distance
as though on a wire. At intervals a female alighted on one of these
display branches and rested quietly. Suddenly a male would dash
up, make a rapid turn or two barely missing her back, uttering a high-
pitched sound like that made by tearing cloth, and then rest with his
body turned away, with the feathers of the abdomen closely com-
pressed to display fully the bright yellow of his legs, while he
quivered both wings slightly. He would then dart away, and instantly
on returning repeat the action. Occasionally when he relaxed briefly
to normal perching position the female sidled over until the two rested
side by side, with wings nearly in contact. During the entire display
there was a steady background of crackling, popping sounds, pro-
duced, I assumed, by rattling the stiffened secondaries and rectrices.
Alexander Skutch (Auk, 1949, pp. 1-24, plate) in detailed studies
318 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of this race at El General in Costa Rica, and on Barro Colorado
Island, Canal Zone, found that nest-building, incubation, and the
care of the young falls to the female alone. He describes the nest as
“a very slight, frail structure suspended between the arms of a fork of
a thin, horizontal branch. It is too shallow to be called a cup; perhaps
‘hammock’ is the term that best describes it. The delicate fabric is
composed chiefly of fine vegetable fibers, usually brown in color,
sometimes lighter.’’ Small leaves, or fragments of them, are attached
to the outer surface, including the bottom which may be so flimsy
that the eggs are seen from below. One nest measured about 45 mm
in diameter by 16 mm deep, so small that the body of the female
as she sat on the eggs was almost entirely exposed. The nest loca-
tion usually was above a meter and a half from the ground. The
eggs were two ina set “dark grayish-buff, heavily mottled with brown,
especially in a wreath around the thicker end.” Measurements of
eight ranged from 21.5-22.2x 14.3-15.9 mm. The main breeding
season is from March through May, but may continue until July.
A set of two eggs, nearly fresh, in the U.S. National Museum col-
lected by Storrs Olson and J. Wiese, May 8, 1966, at mile 12 on
the Gamboa Highway, between Summit and Gamboa, Canal Zone,
were in a nest placed in a low bush, elevated about two meters from
the ground. They are pinkish white, with heavy, partly longitudinal
blotches of rather dull brown that form an indefinite band at the large
end. They measure 21.1 x 15.3 and 22.8 x 15.2 mm.
In this species the secondaries are large and stiffened nearly to
the tips. The shaft, which bears the feather structure, swells where
it joins the bare base, the calamus, being considerably enlarged both
above and below the web for two-thirds its length. It then decreases
in diameter but remains definitely stiffened nearly to the tip. The
rectrices, or tail feathers, have a similar form. This enlargement is
found also in females but less in size and form.
With this stiffened structure, in flight, or by vibrating the wings
when perched, the male manakin produces loud snapping sounds,
sometimes singly, sometimes so rapidly as to make a whirring noise.
In this, as the wings may vibrate so quickly that their movement may
not be detected, some observers have mistakenly believed that the
noise was vocal, or was produced by the bill.
In a heavily forested area near Almirante I watched an attractive
display by one male as it rested at the side of a little circle of sun
that came down through the leaves like a tiny spotlight. Periodically
the bird elongated the body, puffed out the red head feathers, and
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 319
then, bending forward, swung back and forth with the head glowing
in the reflected light.
The nominate race, Pipra mentalis mentalis, in which the male
has the head paler, more orange-red, the yellowish chin spot larger,
and the body duller black, and the female is duller, darker olive-green
with foreneck and abdomen less yellow, is found from southern
Veracruz, México, south in Central America (except El Salvador)
to Nicaragua. The race ignifera, averaging slightly smaller, has the
tail shorter, the head in the adult male dark red; tibia slightly darker
yellow, often tinged with orange to orange-red, chin marking usually
less in extent, and the body deeper black. Females are somewhat
brighter green and more yellow on the lower breast and abdomen.
The range covers Costa Rica and western and central Panama. Speci-
mens from northwestern Costa Rica (e.g., a male in the American
Museum of Natural History from Guacimo) may have the head
slightly orange, thus showing an approach to typical mentalis, but
the majority seen, including both Pacific and Caribbean slopes, are
to be placed with mentalts.
PIPRA ERYTHROCEPHALA ERYTHROCEPHALA (Linnaeus):
Golden-headed Manakin, Saltarin Cabecidorado
Parus erythrocephalus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1758, p. 191. (America
australi = Surinam. )
Pipra erythrocephala actinosa Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 65, September 1922, p. 214. (Cerro Sapo, Darién, Panama.)
Small; adult male black, with head orange; female, similar to that
of the Red-headed Manakin, but slightly lighter colored and tail
shorter.
Description—Length, 75-85 mm. Adult male, crown, hindneck,
and side of head bright orange-yellow, darkest on side of head and
across hindneck, the latter in some with a narrow line of orange-red ;
tibia white, with the lower area of the outer side scarlet; axillars
and under wing coverts grayish black; under surface of wing feathers
dusky ; rest of plumage glossy black.
Adult female, upper surface dull olive-green ; wings and tail dusky-
gray, edged narrowly with olive-green; foreneck, and lower breast
pale olive, shading to yellowish olive on abdomen and under tail
coverts; axillars, under wing coverts and inner webs of primaries
and secondaries yellowish white. (Adult females rarely may have a
few bright yellow feathers on the back of the head.)
Immature male, in general like female, but often duller colored;
320 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
occasionally with the black feathers of the adult body plumage
present.
An adult male, taken at Armila, San Blas, March 5, 1963, had
the iris white ; maxilla light mouse brown; mandible dull buffy white ;
tarsus, toes, and claws pale brown. In some males seen the eye was
light yellow, possibly immature birds recently molted to adult stage.
An adult female from Armila, collected March 4, had the iris mouse
brown, maxilla fuscous-black ; mandible dull white; gape dull honey
yellow, tarsus brownish neutral gray; feet dark neutral gray; claws,
light neutral gray. Another female, taken March 11, had the iris light
mouse brown; maxilla fuscous-brown; tarsus and toes pale dull
reddish brown; claws dark mouse brown.
Measurements——Males (10 from Province of Panama, Darién,
and San Blas), wing 55.9-58.6 (57.4), tail 17.0-19.7 (18.2), culmen
from base 9.9-11.3 (10.8), tarsus 13.5-14.9 (14.0) mm.
Females (10 from Province of Panama, Darién, and San Blas),
wing 57.4-59.5 (58.3), tail 19.5-21.1 (20.3), culmen from base 10.0-
12.0 (10.8), tarsus 14.0-15.0 (14.2) mm.
Resident. Common in Tropical Zone forests, on the Pacific slope
from Chepo (Rio Mamoni), Chiman, Charco del Toro, and Cerro
Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama, through Darién ; to 600 meters
on Cerro Pirre, 875 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna; on the Caribbean
side through eastern San Blas (Bahia Caledonia, Armila, Puerto
Obaldia. )
Though the total area occupied by this species in Panama is con-
siderably less in linear extent than that of the related Red-capped
Manakin it is probable that the total population of the present species
numerically is greater. The Golden-headed Manakin, like its relative,
is a forest species, but one able to adapt to older second growth. It
differs in ranging higher in the trees, usually from 5 to 15 meters,
among the leaves of the taller undergrowth and the lower tree crown.
Also from ten to twenty or more may be found associated in loose
company. Each adult male in these groups has his special perch,
usually a slender horizontal branch without leaves, less often a length
of vine. D. W. Snow who has studied this species especially in
Trinidad (Zool., New York Zool. Soc., vol. 47, 1962, pp. 185-186)
says of it, “In resting posture, it sits hunched, with body-feathers
fluffed and legs concealed. When it begins to display its appearance
changes markedly ; it sleeks its plumage and stretches its legs, so that
the red and white thigh feathers appear. . . . With the legs stretched
. and the body held rather horizontally, the bird makes rapid
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 321
flights to and fro. . . . the wings make a brisk humming sound. . . .
Between bouts of darting back and forth, a very short sharp ‘zit, zit’
is often uttered. . . . with the legs stretched, the head held low and
”
the tail elevated, the bird ‘slides’ backwards along its perch. .
Display flights are accompanied by sharp notes, and finally a buzzing
sound as the birds alight. .
In my own observations I have believed that this buzzing sound
is made by rapid vibration of the wing feathers and tail. The secon-
daries and the rectrices are stiff as in the red-capped species, but the
enlarged basal area of the shaft is smaller, as wings and tail are
appreciably shorter. In the present species I have never heard the
sharp popping and tearing sounds that accompany the displays of
Pipra mentalis. On the whole the Golden-headed Manakin assembles
in larger groups in which the activity as the birds shift about is
considerable.
Snow (loc. cit., p. 191) describes the nest as a “small, shallow
cup slung in the fork between the two horizontal twigs of a sapling or
shrub, or the lower branches of a tree. It is thinly woven of brownish
fibers and rootlets, and often has a few dead leaves bound into the
bottom of the cup or hanging from the under side. The cup is usually
so thin that the contents are partly visible from below. . . . the
breeding season extends from January to August.” Belcher and
Smooker (Ibis, 1937, pp. 225-226) in Trinidad describe two eggs in
a set as elongated blunt ovals to regular ovals “pale greenish-yellow.
. . smooth, slightly glossy shell is thickly spotted and longitudinally
streaked with umber-brown so as to form a wreath about the larger
end; over these markings a few black hairlines appear, and under
them some of lilac-grey.” They measure 19.5X14.5 and 19.1x
15 mm.
This species feeds mainly on small-sized berries, supplemented by
insects and spiders. The birds are quite vocal, frequently uttering
quick calls that increase and become more varied during the excite-
ment of their displays. My attention often has been attracted to them
by their chirping followed by a few notes of sibilant song. Males
in plain immature dress of the first year regularly sing and display
like those fully adult. Pipra erythrocephala seems to be one of the
most abundant numerically of its family with a vast distribution in
forested areas from eastern Panama through northern South
America. Throughout this range there is some variation in the
depth of head color in males, and in body color in females and im-
mature males, and also differences in size. A race berlepschi, in
which the head in the male is paler yellow, with no orange-red line
322 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
across the base of the neck, appears distinct with a range from the
eastern slope of the Andes in Colombia through eastern Ecuador,
northern Peru, and western Brazil. The form rubrocapilla Temminck
found from northern Bolivia across Brazil south of the Amazon is
specifically distinct because of its longer, less stiffened tail, red head
color, and differences in display, as described by Helmut Sick (Journ.
f. Orn., 1959, pp. 275-277). A supposed race flammiceps requires
further study since apparently it is known from €olombia only from
two rather highly colored specimens collected in the valley of the
Rio Lebrija, a small tributary of the Rio Magdalena in northwestern
Department of Santander. From examination of a long series I see
nothing to justify the race actinosa described from eastern Panama.
The race flavissima named by Junge and Mees (Zool. Verh. Rijksm.
Leiden, no. 37, 1958, p. 93) from Trinidad also appears doubtful.
Under present information the Panamanian population is assigned to
typical erythrocephala, which therefore is given a range across
northern South America through Colombia and Venezuela to Surinam.
PIPRA PIPRA ANTHRACINA Ridgway: White-crowned Manakin,
Saltarin Cabeciblanco
Pipra pipra anthracina Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19, Sep-
tember 6, 1906, p. 117. (Moravia, Limon, Costa Rica.)
Small, with short tail; male black, except for long white crest;
female dull grayish green, with yellowish breast and abdomen.
Description —Length 85-95 mm. Adult male, with a prominent
crest. Crown, hindneck, and the pointed crest white; remaining body
plumage, including the lores, bristles over the nostril, side of the
head, and innermost axillars black; outer axillars, under wing coverts
and tibia dark gray; under tail coverts tipped narrowly with dark
gray ; wings and tail brownish black.
Adult female and immature male, crown, hindneck, and sides of
head and neck slate color; back, scapulars, and outer webs of
secondaries and inner primaries olive-green; wing coverts, upper
tail coverts and central tail feathers grayish olive-green ; inner webs of
wing feathers and of tail dull brownish black; chin and upper fore-
neck grayish olive-green ; lower foreneck and upper breast dull olive-
green; lower breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts dull yellowish
white; axillars and under wing coverts pale grayish white; tibia dull,
dark brownish gray.
A male in immature dress (with a few white feathers appearing
adjacent to the left nostril) taken February 27, 1962, at the head of
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 323
the Rio Guabal, Coclé, had the iris bright reddish brown; maxilla
fuscous-black, mandible neutral gray, paler on the cutting edge and
gonys ; tarsus, toes, and claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, and
Costa Rica), wing 59.0-62.5 (60.9), tail 23.9-26.6 (25.4), culmen
from base 9.0-11.8 (10.9), tarsus 14.0-15.4 (14.6) mm.
Females (5 from Veraguas and Costa Rica), wing 57.9-61.1
(59.3), tail 25.4-28.5 (27.1), culmen from base 9.3-11.9 (11.2),
tarsus 14.9-16.3 (15.3) mm.
Resident. Rare and little known in Tropical and lower Upper
Tropical Zone forests on the Pacific slope of eastern Chiriqui and
Veraguas; recorded on the Caribbean slope in northern Veraguas
and Cocle.
To date this species has been known in Panama from early records
of specimens collected by Enrique Arcé on the Cordillera de Tolé in
eastern Chiriqui, and at Santa Fé and Chitra on the Pacific slope of
Veraguas. Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 200) reports
it also from Calovévora on the Caribbean slope of Veraguas. On
February 27, 1962, I caught one in a mist net set in a locality known
as Tigre at 475 meters elevation on the head of the Rio Guabal, a
tributary of the Rio San Juan, which joins the western side of the Rio
Coclé del Norte, on the Caribbean slope of western Coclé. This was
the only one seen during a week’s collecting at this locality.
The race anthracina ranges north beyond Panama on the Caribbean
slope to central Costa Rica, but is reported there only from a few
localities. The species as a whole has a wide distribution in South
America from Colombia and Venezuela south to Pertti and Brazil.
Throughout this extensive range minor differences have suggested
recognition of a dozen geographic races.
The life history of the species as a whole is little known. Snow
(Ibis, 1961, pp. 110-111) in Guyana, found males of the typical race
Pipra pipra pipra “distributed thinly through the forest, each bird
apparently keeping to a limited area. The advertising call, a thin,
insectlike chrrrrr lasting about 14 seconds, is uttered rather regu-
larly at intervals of about half a minute... . A single male...
was present within a limited area . . . which included a small clear-
ing where a tree had fallen. Here, round the edges of the clearing,
it had four or five main calling perches . . . but it also called else-
where. . . . The male fed intermittently in its territory, picking in-
sects from the leaves in flight. Occasionally he performed more or
less stereotyped actions . . . of three sorts: (1) to-and-fro flights
324 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
between adjacent perches at the same level. . . . During these flights
a soft flip-er flip, probably a wing noise, could sometimes be heard.
. . . (2) Occasionally the bird would quickly turn about on its perch,
so as to face the other way, without any lateral movement along the
perch. (3) When flying from one perch to another . . . the bird
would sometimes end its flight in a rapid swoop down below the
level of the new perch, then rise up above it and down on it, so
that the trajectory was a shallow S-curve. A quite different display,
directed toward a female was seen once.” In this the male “began
flying round her with a slow flapping flight during which the wing-
beat was deep and so slow that the wings were easily visible. The
appearance in fact was very like that of a large black and white
butterfly.”
CHLOROPIPO HOLOCHLORA LITAE Hellmayr: Green Manakin,
Saltarin Verde
Chloropipo holochlora litae Hellmayr, Nov. Zool., vol. 13, July 10, 1906, p. 325.
(Lita, Imbabura, northwest Ecuador.)
Chloropipo holochlora suffusa Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72, January
1932, p. 354. (Puerto Obaldia, Comarca de San Blas, Panama.)
Small ; tail of normal length; dark green above; an indistinct dusky
band on breast.
Description—Length 115-125 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface, including central tail feathers, rather dull olive-green ; wings
and tail dusky with the outer webs of the feathers dull olive-green
like back; throat and upper foreneck dull grayish white; a band of
somewhat greenish olive across lower foreneck and upper breast ;
side of head and of neck similar but somewhat darker; lower breast
and abdomen dull yellow; flanks pale dull yellowish olive; under
tail coverts more olive; axillars, and under wing coverts grayish olive.
Immature, somewhat duller colored.
Measurements——Males (10 from Darién and Colombia), wing
69.1-74.5 (71.9), tail 43.7-48.7 (45.9), culmen from base 12.4-14.0
(13.0, average of 9), tarsus 13.8-14.9 (14.3) mm.
Females (10 from Darién, Colombia, and Ecuador), wing 64.0-69.9
(67.9), tail 40.1-43.9 (42.1), culmen from base 11.5-12.7 (12.3),
tarsus 13.5-14.8 (14.1) mm.
A male, from 1250 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién, February
28, 1964, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; mandible dark
neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray. Another of
this sex, from the old village site at 575 meters on the upper Rio
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 325
Tacarcuna, March 6, 1964, was similar, except that the maxilla and
tip of mandible were black, with the base of the mandible dull neutral
gray.
Resident. Found locally in Tropical Zone forests in eastern Darien
and eastern San Blas.
Though Chapman (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 55, 1926,
p. 555) in writing of this bird in Ecuador listed it as ranging to
“eastern Panama” he does not give the basis for this statement. The
first specimen record for Panama is by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 178) of a male taken by Benson at Cana, on
Cerro Pirre, March 22, 1928. When Hasso von Wedel forwarded
two additional males from Ranchon and Puerto Obaldia, San Blas,
Griscom (cit. supra) described the bird of Panama as a distinct sub-
species, C. h. suffusa. Feinstein collected a male at the old village
site on the upper Rio Tacarcuna, February 11, 1959. Galindo secured
a male there June 24, 1963, and I obtained another March 6, 1964.
Others were taken by Galindo at La Laguna, and by me on the
north fork of the upper Rio Pucro, higher on the slopes of Cerro
Tacarcuna, at 1250 meters. Galindo also collected a male February 28,
1971, at 730 meters on Cerro Quia. The recent specimens were
captured in mist nets set in undergrowth.
The series now available from Panama compared to specimens of
litae from southern Narifo, Colombia, show no differences, so that the
proposed race suffusa for Panama is not recognized.
CORAPIPO ALTERA Hellmayr: White-ruffed Manakin,
Saltarin Gorgueriblanco
Ficure 30
Small, short-tailed ; male black, with pure white throat ; female dull
green above, pale gray on foreneck.
Description —Tenth primary narrow, about half the width of the
ninth, shorter than first; nostril rounded and open, without an
operculum. Adult male, crown, hindneck, back, rump, wing coverts,
inner secondaries, and under wing coverts somewhat glossy bluish
black; primaries and inner webs of secondaries dusky; tail dusky,
the feathers edged with bluish black, except on the outer pair; edge
of wing lined with white; upper throat, sides of head from below
rictus and side of neck white.
Adult female, upper surface olive-green; chin and throat pale
gray to grayish olive-green; breast, sides, and flanks pale olive-
326 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
green; abdomen and under tail coverts light, somewhat greenish,
yellow ; under wing coverts pale gray.
Immature male, like female, but with white of throat appearing
early.
In several males the iris was dark brown to reddish brown; maxilla
black; mandible neutral gray; tarsus fuscous to dark brown or dull
reddish brown; toes fuscous to dark or dusky neutral gray. A female
had the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base
of mandible dull neutral gray; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray.
In early accounts based on few specimens, Corapipo altera and
heteroleuca of Panama and Costa Rica were listed as races under
Corapipo leucorrhoa, because of their close similarity in color and in
pattern of markings. The considerable series of all three now avail-
Ficure 30.—White-ruffed manakin, saltarin gorgueriblanco, Corapipo altera,
head in males to illustrate throat pattern. Left, C. a. altera; right, C. a.
heteroleuca.
able demonstrates two groups that logically should be treated as
species. In leucorrhoa, found from Guyana and southeastern Vene-
zuela (with that part of Brazil immediately adjacent) through
northern Colombia, the tenth (outermost) primary is slender, very
narrow and only 14 to 17 mm long. In altera and heteroleuca of
Central America, while the tenth primary is slender, it is broad
enough to be an appreciable element in the wing, with a length of 25
to 30 mm. The two groups, definitely distinct in this character, do not
show any indication of intergradation, and from available records
are not in contact. C. leucorrhoa in northern Colombia has not been
found west of the highlands above the eastern side of the valley of the
Rio Sint. Typical altera ranges south from Darién in eastern
Panama west of the Atrato Valley to the Serrania de Baudo in
central Choco. Blake (Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 535) recog-
nized the specific difference of the birds of western Panama, which
is clearly evident from the series that I have examined.
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 327
CORAPIPO ALTERA HETEROLEUCA Hellmayr
Corapipo leucorrhoa heteroleuca Hellmayr, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 25, March
31, 1910, p. 87. (Boquete, 1065 meters, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters —Adult male with the black in the neck pattern making
a conspicuous V-shaped indentation at the center of the posterior
border of the white throat (evident in immature males early, as they
begin to assume adult dress). Female, closely similar to nominate
altera in color, averaging very slightly darker on abdomen but not
always certainly separable from C. a. altera.
An adult male at Palo Santo, west of El Volcan, Chiriqui, on
March 17, 1965, had the iris chestnut ; maxilla black; mandible dark
neutral gray; tarsus very dark reddish brown; toes blackish slate;
claws black. A female at the same locality, March 18, 1965, had the
iris chestnut-brown; maxilla slaty black ; mandible pale neutral gray ;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws fuscous-black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from western Chiriqui), wing 58.2-
60.7 (59.2), tail 29.0-30.8 (30.0), culmen from base 9.2-10.3 (9.7),
tarsus 15.5-16.5 (16.0) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 57.6-61.3
(59.4), tail 28.2-31.2 (29.6), culmen from base 9.6-11.0 (10.2),
tarsus 15.5-17.0 (16.6) mm.
Resident. Recorded from the Tropical and lower Subtropical Zones
to 1585 meters in western Chiriqui, from near the Costa Rican
boundary east to Bugaba, Divala, and Boquete.
As Skutch, in southwestern Costa Rica (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club,
no. 7, 1967, pp. 68-69) found these birds from sea level at Golfo
Dulce to 1524 meters, but breeding only above a thousand meters, it
is possible that across the border in Chiriqui they may also appear
at lower levels during post-breeding movements.
The first record for the species in Panama is that of Salvin
(Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 200) from Bugaba, where a speci-
men (in the British Museum) was taken by Arcé in 1869. Bangs
(Auk, 1901, p. 364) recorded three males taken by W. W. Brown,
Jr., at Divala in November and December, 1900, and (Proc. New
England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 40) others at Boquete from
March to May 1901. Specimens in the California Academy of Sci-
ences were collected by Mrs. Davidson on the Ilano beyond El Volcan
December 20, 1929, at Barriles January 21 and 27, 1931, and at
El Banco on the southern slope of the volcano December 16, 1930.
In my own observations from near El Volcan west to near Sereno
on the Costa Rican line in western Chiriqui I have found them regu-
328 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
larly, singly, or in small groups of a dozen, both in forest and in more
open areas at the borders of gallery forest, or in second growth. They
have come regularly to fruiting trees to fly out and seize the berries,
sometimes feeding thus in company with honeycreepers. In such
activities they are vivacious in movement, often darting quickly
through undergrowth and the lower trees, sometimes calling softly.
Males at times rested with the body inclined somewhat forward, and
the elongated feathers of the white throat patch raised, frequently
flitting the wings.
The detailed history by Skutch (cit. supra, pp. 68-75, which
refers to the present race of Corapipo altera though headed Corapipo
leucorrhoa) describes the males, at times several in company, using
moss-covered, fallen logs in their mating displays. They are described
as approaching the log, moving in undulating flight with slowly
beating wings, with body held upright, tail raised until nearly parallel
with the back, and feathers puffed, until the bird “resembles a tiny
black balloon with a gleaming white patch on its forward side, just
below its top, as he bounces through the air toward his mossy landing
platform.” While several males may be present they display inde-
pendently without interfering with one another. In a different ap-
proach the bird may move rapidly, and then the wings may make a
sound “hardly a firecracker-like snap, such as made by Manacus and
Pipra mentalis, but rather a duller flap, which may be roughly
imitated by suddenly jerking taut a piece of stout cloth.” Often
this is followed by sharp, harsh calls.
A nest seen March 29, 1964, at 1060 meters near Cafias Gordas,
Costa Rica, was a shallow structure of plant fibers with a few leaf
fragments in the bottom, placed on a fork of a slender branch about
63 meters from the ground. Two eggs deposited by April 7, seen by
means of a small mirror at the end of a slender pole, “appeared
dull white, heavily marked with brown, one over its whole surface,
the other chiefly on the thicker end.” Further observations terminated
when the eggs disappeared. The tiny nest was about 75 mm in
diameter by 32 high, with the nest cavity only about 13 mm deep.
Beyond Panama this race is recorded in southwestern Costa Rica
along the Pacific slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca, and north to
above the valley of the Rio Pirris (at Guaitil), descending in the low-
lands to near the coast at Golfo Dulce.
CORAPIPO ALTERA ALTERA Hellmayr
Corapipo leucorrhea altera Hellmayr, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 16, May 8, 1906,
p. 84 (Carrillo, Costa Rica.)
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 329
Characters——Adult male, with lower margin of white of throat
straight across the upper foreneck. Female, in some averaging faintly
lighter on the lower breast and abdomen, but not always separable
from that of heteroleuca.
An adult male, taken on Cerro Azul, April 12, 1949, had the iris
dark brown; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray; tarsus dark
brown; feet dark neutral gray. Another, from Cerro Chucanti, March
8, 1950, was similar, except that the tarsus was dull reddish brown,
and the feet fuscous. A third, from the Caribbean slope on the head
of Rio Guabal, northern Coclé, February 28, 1962, had the iris
reddish brown.
In a female, from the head of Rio Guabal the iris was dark brown;
maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of mandible dull neutral
gray ; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Province
of Panama, San Blas, and Darién), wing 58.0-61.7 (58.9), tail 27.1-
30.2 (28.9), culmen from base 9.0-9.8 (9.4), tarsus 15.6-16.4
(15.9) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Province of Panama,
and Darién), wing 59.1-61.4 (60.0), tail 28.2-32.2 (29.4), culmen
from base 10.1-11.1 (10.3), tarsus 15.9-16.6 (16.2) mm.
Weight of a male, 11.7 grams; taken by R. S. Crossin on Cerro
Azul, August 13, 1968.
Resident. Locally fairly common on the Pacific slope from eastern
Chiriqui (Cerro Flores), central Veraguas (Santa Fé, Chitra,
Laguna de Castillo), and the central mountains of the Azuero
Peninsula (Cerro Viejo, Cavulla, Cerro Hoya) to southern Coclé
(El Valle), western Province of Panama (Cerro Campana), eastern
Province of Panama (Cerro Azul, Cerro Chucanti), and Darién
(Cerro Sapo, Cerro Mali, Cerro Tacarcuna, Cerro Pirre, Jaqué). On
the Caribbean slope from western Bocas del Toro, through northern
Veraguas, and northern Coclé; and in eastern San Blas to the Co-
lombian boundary.
The bird is not found in the lowland area of the Canal Zone (its
listing there by Aldrich, before the full range was known, being an
oversight).
E. A. Goldman in his work on Cerro Pirre in 1912 collected a male
and three females between 1060 and 1375 meters elevation above Cana
from May 2 to June 7, the first record for Panama. In the western
area of its range Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 7, 1937, pp. 94-95) in February and March 1932, found the
330 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
bird common in the northern end of the mountain forests of the
Azuero Peninsula, where it ranged from 450 to 900 meters. Farther
south in this mountain area C. O. Handley, Jr., collected a male,
February 13, 1962, at 1200 meters on Cerro Hoya. Salvin received
specimens in the early collections of Arcé from Laguna de Castillo
and Santa Fé on the Pacific side of Veraguas. In March 1951, I
found these birds fairly common at 750 meters on the slopes of La
India Dormida above El Valle, and also in the higher forests of
the southern side of Cerro Campana at 850 meters. East of the
Canal Zone we found them in March 1949, on Cerro Azul, and
in 1950 on Cerro Chucanti, where they ranged lower at 200 to 300
meters elevation. On Cerro Mali and Cerro Tacarcuna they were
common. Females collected here on March 18, 1950, were about
to lay.
On the Caribbean side in Bocas del Toro, Dr. Galindo collected
several at 725 meters in the mountain forests on the head of the Rio
Changuena in September 1961. Others were taken earlier by Kennard
in 1926 and by Wedel in 1928 on the mountain trail leading from the
Chiriqui Lagoon toward Boquete. In the early collections of Arcé
specimens came from Calovévora in northern Veraguas. In February
1962, I found them common at 475 meters on the head of Rio Guabal
in northern Coclé.
There is no further report at present on this slope west of eastern
Comarca de San Blas, where Wedel collected specimens at Permé and
Puerto Obaldia, and I secured an adult male at Armila and an im-
mature on the ridge southeast of Puerto Obaldia in February 1963.
Beyond Panama this race ranges through the Caribbean slope of
Costa Rica and Nicaragua to eastern Honduras. Those of the Isthmus
agree in size and color with those of Costa Rica, the type locality.
Aldrich recorded males of this form in display flight “moving very
slowly and evenly through the air with rapidly vibrating wings which
produced a distinct humming sound, and with white throat-patch
puffed.” On one occasion this slow display flight continued for a
distance of 15 meters, accompanied by small explosive sounds as-
sumed to have been made by the wings.
I have found them indifferent to the usual sounds used to attract
other birds. Occasionally I have seen them moving with groups of
forest birds, but usually they are alone and may be rather secretive.
Stomachs examined held seeds, bits of fruit skin, and in one, two
small drupes.
As yet there is no record of nesting of this race.
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 331
CHIROXIPHIA LANCEOLATA (Wagler): Lance-tailed Manakin,
Toledo
Ficure 31
Pipra lanceolata J. Wagler, Isis (of Oken), 1830, col. 931. (Cerro Turumiquire,
Sucre, Venezuela. )
Small; two central tail feathers with elongated, narrow, pointed
tips; male, black with blue back; female green above, grayish below.
Description —Length 115-125 mm.; tibio-metatarsal joint bare;
Figure 31.—Lance-tailed manakin, toledo, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, male.
central pair of rectrices long and narrowly pointed. Adult male,
feathers of forehead short, stiffened, erect, extending forward to
base of nostril; a flattened crest of red feathers growing from center
of crown; central rectrices elongated, finely acuminate, 11 to 16 mm
longer than the lateral pairs; rest of head, neck, tail, wings, and
entire under surface, including the under wing coverts, black, varying
332 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
in some to dull black on undersurface of body; rump and upper tail
coverts slate, with a slight olive cast; back feathers (which are some-
what elongated) and scapulars grayish blue.
Adult female, feathers of forehead shorter, the anterior ones only
slightly erect; central rectrices elongated, but usually somewhat
less so than in males, with tips less narrowly pointed; head normally
not crested, but occasional individuals with a flattened red crest,
narrower than that of the male; above plain olive-green; under sur-
face paler and grayer, with the breast and foreneck somewhat darker
than the sides and rest of the lower surface ; abdomen centrally faintly
olive-yellow to grayish white ; axillars and inner under wing coverts
grayish white; outer under wing coverts grayish olive-green.
Immature male in color like female, but with stiffened, erect
feathers on the forehead, and a flattened red crest as in the adult.
Notes from a series of males record the iris as varying from dark
brown to reddish brown and dark reddish brown; bill fuscous-black
to black; tarsus and toes light to rather dull orange; claws mouse
brown, fuscous or black. Females, iris reddish brown; maxilla dull
black ; mandible fuscous, occasionally dull brown at the base; tarsus
and toes light to dull orange; claws mouse brown to fuscous-brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 70.4—73.5 (71.7),
tail 47.0-52.7 (49.0), culmen from base 11.3-12.5 (11.8), tarsus
18.2-19.7 (19.1) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 67.9-73.7 (70.3), tail 42.0-
45.7 (44.5), culmen from base 11.5-12.9 (12.2), tarsus 17.9-18.9
(18.2) mm.
Resident. Locally common in Tropical Zone thickets and low open
forest on the Pacific slope of western and central Panama, from San
Félix and Las Lajas in the lowlands of east central Chiriqui, to
Boquete and El Volcan in the highlands, east through Veraguas, both
sides of the Azuero Peninsula, Coclé, western Province of Panama,
the southern Canal Zone, and eastern Province of Panama to the
lower Rio Bayano at Chepo; a colony recorded at Garachiné, Darién;
casual on the Caribbean slope in the lower Chagres Valley, on Barro
Colorado Island, and near Gamboa; to 1640 meters on the mountain
slopes above Boquete; recorded off the Pacific coast on islas Parida,
Coiba, Canal de Afuera, Afuerita, Gobernadora, and Cébaco. Be-
yond Chiriqui the species ranges for a short distance into south-
western Costa Rica from the Golfito area in the lowlands and Cafias
Gordas at a higher elevation in the interior.
The birds are found usually in small groups in undergrowth in
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 333
more open stands of trees, or in thickets through abandoned fields
and pastures. As human settlement has cleared heavy forest this
manakin has spread into newer areas where thickets and second
growth are allowed to develop. While the species ranges widely
and may be encountered singly, it is found usually in small groups,
often separated by a considerable distance from others. Or indi-
viduals may come from some distance to berry-bearing trees as these
ripen. While this manakin is absent in areas that seem suited to it, it
is encountered widely east to the Rio Mamoni and the lower Rio
Bayano near Chepo. The only report to date for Darién is from near
Garachiné. In extensive travel through the great valley of the Rio
Tuira and its tributaries from 1959 to 1964 I did not record it, nor
did I find it earlier near the Rio Jaqué and the coastal area adjacent.
On the Caribbean slope it has been reported casually in the Canal Zone
near Gamboa and the Navy Pipeline area. On Barro Colorado Island
in March 1946, I found one female, and E. O. Willis recorded a male
in February and March 1964. E. S. Morton collected a male near
Gamboa July 10, 1966 (specimen in the Northern Illinois University
Museum).
Usually the birds remain under cover, except for an occasional
male that may appear briefly on some open perch. More rarely, in
display, two males may rest side by side with bodies horizontal, the
head extended, and wings quivering, so that frequently they make the
branch shake. Again, they posture with tail cocked up, or call and
drive at one another with flitting wings in harmless threats of combat.
In these displays often the skin across the back of the neck is dis-
tended through an air sac that fills the space between the shoulders
and the back of the head, so that this area appears greatly enlarged.
At such times of excitement a whistled imitation of their musical
notes may call them out to open view.
The birds feed regularly on berries, which they flutter out to seize,
and swallow entire.
Through its musical calls the species is widely known among
country residents, who call it toledo from imitation of its notes,
torero or soldado from the colorful pattern of the males, or more
rarely pasa monte or cantimplora (the latter of uncertain derivation ).
Beyond Panama this species has a wide range along the Caribbean
coast across northern Colombia, and an even more extensive distribu-
tion through northern Venezuela, including Isla Margarita. Oc-
casional trade skins in older collections were labeled Trinidad in error
as the species is not found on that island. The uniformity in size and
334 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
coloration found in the extensive series of specimens available
throughout the vast area of its occurrence is unusual.
Eugene Eisenmann, in an area of thickets at Playa Coronado, in
mid-May found males in display, with the throat puffed and the
wings shivering and hanging below the tail, while they uttered their
musical calls, interspersed with nasal, growling sounds. At times two
males rested near one another on the same branch, calling steadily.
Other pairs of males in alternation leaped a few centimeters in the
air usually landing on the same perch.
Hallinan (Auk, 1924, p. 319) described a nest found September 13,
1907, on Sosa Hill, Canal Zone, in a low bush nearly a meter from the
ground, as shallow, made of “‘fine dried twigs and dried leaves hung
loosely on the sides and bottom.’ The two eggs were brownish
white, with spots of reddish brown mainly in a ring around the
larger end. Measurements (transposed from inches) were 21.8xX
15.7 and 21.8 15.2 mm. Another nest from Panama Viejo, August
11, 1907, was shallow of “fibrous grass bound with spider webs.”
The two eggs were identical in color, marking, and size to those
described above.
MANACUS VITELLINUS (Gould): Golden-collared Manakin,
Doctorcito
FiGcurE 32
Small; male with crown, wings, and tail black, foreneck and upper
breast yellow to faintly orange-yellow; female dull green, paler on
lower surface.
Description—Length 100-120 mm. Adult male, wing feathers
strongly stiffened, outer primaries bowed, tips narrowed; feathers
of throat elongated to form an erectile tuft; crown, including lores,
center of back, scapulars, wings (except anterior lesser coverts) and
tail black ; hindneck, upper back, sides of head, neck, and upper breast
bright orange-yellow ; rump and upper tail coverts olive-green ; lesser
wing coverts mixed yellow and black; lower breast, sides, and under
tail coverts pale olive-green; abdomen yellowish; axillars and under
wing coverts pale yellow ; edge of wing dusky-olive.
Adult female, upper surface olive-green; lower surface paler,
olive-yellow on breast and abdomen.
Immature male, like adult female.
Details of the range of the nominate form vitellinus in Panama
are given below. In northwestern Colombia this race continues
beyond the Comarca de San Blas into northern Choco near the lower
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 335
Rio Atrato, to Unguia, along the Golfo de Uraba through Acandi
on the western side, and to Necocli, Antioquia, on the east. Another
subspecies, milleri, inhabits the rest of northwestern Colombia in
the departments of Antioquia, Cordoba and Bolivar from the valley
of the Rio Sint to the lower Rio Cauca and the middle Rio Mag-
dalena. A third, viridiventris, is found along the west coast from
Ficure 32.—Golden-collared manakin, doctorcito, Manacus vitellinus vitellinus,
male.
central Chocé and northwestern Antioquia (Villa Artiaga) in the
upper Rio Cauca Valley south to the Rio Dagua in western Valle.
An allied species, Manacus manacus with several races, ranges
widely to the east and south of these limits in Colombia, east through
Venezuela to Trinidad and the Guianas, south to eastern Pert and
much of Brazil to eastern Paraguay and Misiones in northeastern
Argentina. The male in this form is similar in color pattern to
vitellinus but has the head, breast, and band across the upper breast
336 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
pure white, and the rest of the under surface and rump gray. The
subspecies Manacus manacus abditivus meets and to some degree
overlaps the range of Manacus vitellinus milleri along the lower and
middle Cauca Valley.
On the Caribbean slope in Costa Rica beyond Bocas del Toro there
is a third bird of this group, Manacus candei, in which the male, ex-
cept for the black crown, has the entire anterior half of the body, in-
cluding most of the upper and lower wing coverts and the axillars,
pure white, and the remainder of the lower surface bright yellow.
This ranges north without appreciable variation to southeastern
Mexico. It is recorded as common in the northern part of Caribbean
Costa Rica but uncommon in the south toward Panama. Slud (Bull.
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 238-239) in outlining the
Costa Rican distribution, adds parenthetically ‘‘and almost certainly
adjacent Panama.”’ But of its occurrence on the Panamanian side
of the boundary at the Rio Sixaola as yet there has been no record.
The relationship of these three entities is a matter of interest.
It may be postulated that the original stock was of South American
origin that has spread north through the Isthmus of Panama, perhaps
since the close of Pleistocene time. That the three as they are now
present are allied is evident, but opinion as to the type of this rela-
tionship may vary. Males of all three reproduce through a method
in which from one to several are resident in a limited area where
each has a small bare territory cleared on the ground. To this they
attract females through active displays, accompanied by peculiar
calls and mechanical sounds. After mating and fertilization, the labor
of nest construction, incubation, and rearing of young is the function
of the female alone. Recently, Dr. Haffer, familiar in the field with
those of Colombia, (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 2294, 1967, pp. 12-17)
suggests that the three “have not reached full species status, still
replacing each other geographically and hybridizing along narrow
zones of secondary contact,” so that they are to be treated as a group
or “semi-species within the species unit Manacus manacus (Lin-
naeus).” As argument, he cites highly interesting observations by
FE. O. Willis in the middle Cauca Valley near Caucasia, Antioquia,
where males of M. m. abditivus and M. v. milleri both were displaying
in “an isolated woodlot ...no more than ten meters apart... .
Out of some ten males displaying in this small dancing ground, two
at the north end were white [abditivus], one or two at the south end
were yellow [mulleri]| and six or so in between were pale yellow
hybrid [abditivus x milleri].” He collected one pale yellow and
one white bird as specimens.
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 33%
The question is one of definite interest that merits study. Merely
as discussion, it may be noted that in examination of several hundred
specimens of the three forms concerned throughout their range [
have seen no hybrids of any nature. To anyone familiar with the
geographic areas concerned, it is obvious that forest destruction,
through human activities, with resultant restriction in the original
habitat, has been extensive. Because of this, the two forms found
together by Dr. Willis, presumed formerly to have been separated,
now may be mingled, a circumstance possible but less probable under
the normal condition. Dr. Willis in personal discussion has informed
me that the woodlot where his observations were made was a forest
remnant, isolated in pasturelands. The result might be interpreted as
similar in a sense to the hybridization well known among ducks, as
between males of the mallard and females of a variety of species.
Lowe (Ibis, 1942, pp. 50-83) in an account of the anatomy of the
Golden-collared Manakin (made from specimens of nominate vitel-
linus, but applying to the species as a whole) noted the considerable
development of muscles in the breast, shoulder regions, and the upper
leg. This he attributed to the special display in jumping and flight
of males. He mentioned also the thickened secondaries, in which the
quills are not fastened firmly to the ulna as usual in birds, but are at-
tached loosely to a tendon with large muscle slips that allow unusual
mobility. They thus control the loud snapping and other mechanical
sounds made by the wings. The muscular development he described
is clearly evident during preparation of specimens.
MANACUS VITELLINUS VITELLINUS (Gould)
Pipra vitellina Gould, in Hinds, R. B. (editor), Zoology of the Voyage of
H. M. S. Sulphur, under the command of Sir Edward Belcher, R.N.,
F. R.G. S., ete., during the years 1836-1842, vol. 1, pt. 3 (Birds, pt. 1), October
1843, p. 41, pl. 21. (Panama = Panama City, Panama.)
Characters—Male, foreneck, sides of head, and band across
hindneck more orange; posterior under surface greenish; rump and
upper tail coverts somewhat darker, duller, more grayish green.
Female, above lighter, brighter olive-green; lighter, more yellowish
on breast and abdomen ; tail and wings faintly duller.
An adult male from Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 12, 1961,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of
mandible dusky neutral gray; tarsus and toes dark orange; claws
dusky neutral gray. In another, from Cafiita, Panama, February 6,
1962, the iris was dark wood brown; base of mandible dark neutral
gray ; rest of bill black; tarsus and toes dark orange; claws black. One
338 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
from El Copé, Coclé, February 23, 1962, had the iris dark mouse
brown, and the bill black, except for the central line of the gonys,
which was dusky neutral gray. A male in immature plumage from
the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, Panama, March 3, 1961, was
like adults, except that the tarsus and toes were yellowish brown.
A female from La Jagua, Panama, January 13, 1962, had the iris
dark brown; maxilla black; base and sides of mandible dark neutral
gray; base of gonys dull neutral gray; tarsus and toes light orange;
claws black. One from El Copé, Coclé, February 23, 1962, had the
iris dark mouse brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black, base of
mandible neutral gray; tarsus and toes orange; claws black. Another
female, from Pucro, Darién, February 1, 1964, was similar. In
addition, inside the mouth in this bird, the tip of the tongue was
neutral gray; the lining of the maxilla and extreme tip of the
mandible black, with the rest below and at the sides of the tongue dark
neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (47 from Province of Panama, Coclé,
Colon, Canal Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 50.4-55.7 (52.3),
tail 25.8-31.5 (28.3), culmen from base 11.0-13.0 (11.8), tarsus
20.4-22.4 (21.4) mm.
Females (46 from Province of Panama, Coclé, Colon, Canal Zone,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 50.7-54.9 (53.2), tail 27.3-31.7 (29.3),
culmen from base 11.1-12.7 (12.0), tarsus 18.3-20.7 (19.4) mm.
Weights, ¢ adult, 19.0 grams; ¢' immature, 16.5 grams; 3 2 15.5,
16.4, 16.4 grams (from R. S. Crossin).
Resident. Locally common in wooded areas in the Tropical Zone.
On the Pacific slope from the foothills of eastern Veraguas (Santa
Fé), east through the western sector of the Province of Panama (La
Campana, Chorrera), the Canal Zone, the eastern sector of the
Province of Panama, and Darién (Rio Jaqué, Jaqué) ; on the Carib-
bean slope from the eastern end of Laguna de Chiriqui (Cricamola),
Bocas del Toro, through northern Veraguas (Guabal, on Rio Calo-
vévora), northern Coclé (El Uracillo), both eastern and western sec-
tors of Colon (Chilar, Portobelo), the northern Canal Zone, the
Chagres Valley, eastern Province of Panama, and the Comarca de
San Blas (Mandinga, Permé, Armila, Puerto Obaldia).
Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 14, 1888, p. 315) lists an
adult male from “Veragua (Arcé)” from the Salvin-Godman col-
lection, a specimen which apparently is the basis for the record
“Veraguas,” by Salvin and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2,
1890, p. 115). This bird, which I have seen, has no other data except
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 339
Arcé’s number 1075. Possibly it came from Arcé’s work near Santa
Fé, as there are no modern records for Veraguas except in that area.
A female (no. 106535) in the American Museum of Natural History
labeled ‘‘Coiba, J. H. Batty, June 23, 1901, 2” is without question one
with erroneous data.
Gould, in the original description says that his type, which he had
figured in two positions, “was procured by Mr. Hinds at Panama, and
is the only one I have seen.’’ Panama in this instance is taken to mean
Panama City, where the Sulphur, the ship on which Hinds traveled,
must have docked or anchored. It is therefore a probable locality.
“Lion Hill, Canal Zone,” suggested by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 180), a station on the Panama Railroad, not
established until much later, was a remote point distant in the jungle
when the type was collected.
At the western end of the range there are specimens from Crica-
mola on the Laguna de Chiriqui in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology and in the University of California at Los Angeles (taken
by Loye Miller along the western side of the Valiente Peninsula).
Others were collected by Benson at Cocoplum on the base of the
Valiente Peninsula on the seaward side.
The small doctorcito, long known as Gould’s Manakin, common
throughout much of its range, is widely distributed in open forest
through the Tropical Zone. While it may be found among higher
branches, particularly where attracted by the berries that are its
staple food, it is more frequently noted in the lower undergrowth of
the forests that form its haunts. Its presence usually is indicated by
the calls of males, and the explosive sounds made by their wings
during their displays. When these are heard one may be seen by
watching for a few minutes, when its bright colors may be detected
among the leaves. During the long breeding season from late Febru-
ary to August they are definitely sedentary, moving about mainly to
secure food. This may include small spiders or insects, but 1s com-
posed mainly of berries of the common melastomes, or small figs. It
is the males that are seen most often because of their bright plumage
and active movements. The quieter, dull-colored females, which must
be equally common, attract the eye less often.
Information on mating and habits in general comes largely through
studies made on Barro Colorado Island, particularly those of Dr.
Frank M. Chapman (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 68, 1935,
pp. 471-525; Life in an Air Castle, 1938, pp. 133-149). The usual
calls, high-pitched in tone, are chee pooh and peé yu, the latter
340 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
subject to considerable variation. Coupled with these are whirring
sounds made by rapid movements of the wings and a snap, somewhat
variable in explosiveness, made by abrupt contact of the stiffened
shafts of the wing feathers, especially of the secondaries.
Males, during the prolonged breeding season, congregate in small
groups of three to eight or more in rather open undergrowth in forest.
Here, each male prepares a “court,” a level space on the ground in
the undergrowth, roughly elliptical, in size approximately 50 by 80
centimeters. This is completely cleared of leaves or other cover,
and is the definite territory of one individual male. The courts of a
group of males may be separated by 3 to 60 meters, but, regardless of
distance, each with a varying amount of surrounding space is the ter-
ritory of a single male. At the approach of a female the male begins
to call and produce whirring and snapping sounds, until in final
climax he may be resting on the ground in his court with his “beard”
fully extended and the areas of yellow feathers expanded, while he
“assumes a rigid gaze-pose and holds it from several seconds to a
minute or more. After this rest . . . he may jump rapidly forward
and backward across court, and no matter how short the distance, in
some invisible way, he turns in the air to alight, facing the point of
departure.” Snow (Zoologica, vol. 47, 1962, pp. 100-101) describes
another action, seen only in part by Chapman, a slide in which the
male flies to a perpendicular branch where he clings head down,
with beating wings, and slides down turning as he goes to a hori-
zontal position. This is “a culminating phase of a courtship display”’
preceding actual mating which may take place in the court or may
follow a mating flight.
The female alone builds her nest, in which two eggs are deposited,
incubates, and feeds the young until they are grown. The nesting
season extends from February to August.
The nest is a frail, shallow cup made, according to Jewel (in Stone,
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 268) of “‘strips
of plant bark, hairlike rootlets and grass stalks.” The two eggs are
“grayish, heavily streaked longitudinally with varying shades of
brown.” They measure 15.5 x 20.8 mm. In two collected on the upper
Rio Trinidad, Canal Zone, March 30, 1912, by August Busck, the
ground color is pale buff. One is heavily marked with narrow longi-
tudinal lines of dull reddish brown, intensified somewhat to form an
indefinite circle around the large end. It is somewhat damaged so
that it may not be measured accurately. The other has heavy longi-
tudinal lines, and blotches of dull reddish brown forming a band
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 341
around the large end, and scattered narrower lines, partly brown and
partly grayish brown on the lower half. It measures 15.1 21.1 mm.
Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 16, 1969, p. 129) lists two sets of two
from eastern Panama as 14.8-15.1 x 20.8-21.1 mm. In a set of two
of the related race Manacus vitellinus milleri of northwestern Co-
lombia, in the British Museum (Natural History), collected near
Remedios, Antioquia, by T. K. Salmon, one is elliptical in form, the
other long elliptical. In color, one is faintly buffy white, marked
heavily on the larger half with more or less confluent lines of cin-
namon-brown, in part verging toward chocolate and grayish brown.
The other egg has these markings covering most of its surface, with
the basal color showing only in part. They measure 20.1 x 14.9 and
21-6 %15.3 mm.
MANACUS VITELLINUS CERRITUS Peters
Manacus cerritus Peters, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 10, September 22,
1927, p. 9. (Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panama.)
Characters ——Male, with forepart of body and upper back yellow,
or only slightly orange; lower surface more greenish yellow; rump
and upper tail coverts brighter green.
Female and immature male, darker green throughout.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro), wing 51.8-
55.0 (53.5), tail 31.2-36.8 (34.4), culmen from base 11.1-12.8 (11.9),
tarsus 20.0-22.6 (21.6) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro), wing 52.9-56.3 (54.6), tail
32.1-35.7 (33.9), culmen from base 11.8-12.5 (12.1), tarsus 19.7-
21.4 (20.7) mm.
Resident. Locally, fairly common in western Bocas del Toro, near
Changuinola and Almirante ; Isla Bastimentos.
This interesting form was named by Peters from a series of eight
specimens collected by Hasso von Wedel near Almirante. Later this
collector secured others, part of them from Changuinola. In January
and February 1958, I found it frequently along the shores of the
southern arm of Bahia de Almirante on the slightly elevated land back
of the mangroves, and also along Quebrada Nigua, but in lesser
number. It was seen especially on the low elevations above the small
streams flowing into Ensenada de Ambrosio (the southern arm of
the bay) to the west of Isla Pastores. Among those who spoke
English the area was known as “Water Valley.” Specimens in the
collections of the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory were taken during
banding operations near Almirante, on October 10 and November 12,
342 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
1960, and January 10 and 12, 1961. In 1963, Dr. C. O. Handley, Jr.,
found this race common on Isla Bastimentos, and collected two males
near Punta Vieja on February 8 and 10. In field observation, on
January 22, when a small group of males were displaying I found
that the sibilant call, the buzzing rattle, and the sudden snap seemed
exactly like those of the nominate form of central and eastern
Panama. On one occasion several females were gathered separately
on a shaded slope where small berries were ripening in the shrubbery.
Due to extensive clearing near Changuinola, suitable habitat for
manakins has been largely eliminated so that I did not record it there.
It should be found, however, toward the hill region inland. The valley
of the Rio Sixaola should be checked for possible occurence from
Sibube to Guabito.
MANACUS VITELLINUS AMITINUS Wetmore
Manacus vitellinus amitinus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 139, no. 2,
July 8, 1959, p. 7. (Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Bocas del Toro, Panama.)
Characters—Similar to M. v. vitellinus but larger; bill, tarsi,
and toes heavier.
Adult male with lower back, rump, sides, and under wing coverts
darker green. Female and immature male somewhat darker green,
with the abdomen less yellowish.
Measurements——Males (3 specimens), wing 59.3-61.4 (60.6), tail
39.2-42.0 (40.2), culmen from base 14.0-14.8 (14.5), tarsus 23.8-
24.5 (24.1) mm.
Females (2 specimens), wing 59.5, 60.0; tail 38.2, 38.3; culmen
from base 14.7, 14.7; tarsus 21.0, 21.5 mm.
Resident. Common on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Bocas del Toro.
Larger size in this island race, compared to other subspecies of
this manakin, evident when I first saw the bird in the field, is verified
by comparison with the measurements of the other forms. They were
among the more common of the small birds resident on the island,
more so than the Golden Warbler, and standing next to the Bay
Wren, the one found in greatest number. At the beginning of March
1958, males were not noted in display, nor did I hear them calling.
They were found among the branches of the smaller trees, moving
about rather slowly, and remaining motionless for several minutes at
at time. On March 22, 1963, Charles O. Handley, Jr., secured four
caught in mist nets set for bats. These were preserved entire in
alcohol.
Small manakins are birds of such weak flight that it seems prob-
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 343
able that the ancestral stock populated what is now Isla Escudo de
Veraguas when it was part of the mainland during a low sea level
period in the Pleistocene.
MANACUS AURANTIACUS (Salvin): Orange-collared Manakin,
Candelero
Chiromachaeris aurantiaca Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, November 1870,
p. 200. (Bugaba, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Manacus aurantiacus flaviventris Aldrich, Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 7, August 11, 1937, p. 95. (Rio Mariato, 10 miles east of Bahia
Montijo, Veraguas, Panama. )
Like the Golden-collared Manakin, but smaller; male with upper
back, foreneck, and upper breast bright orange; lower breast and
abdomen yellow.
Female with under surface washed with orange.
Description —Length 93-98 mm. Adult male, wing structure and
elongated throat feathers as in Manacus vitellinus. Crown, includ-
ing lores and lower back, black; rump olive-green ; upper tail coverts
slightly yellowish olive-green; inner lesser and middle wing coverts
black basally, tipped with pale yellow and orange; outer lesser coverts,
alula, greater coverts, primaries, and secondaries black, the greater
coverts tipped and the central area of the flight feathers edged lightly
with olive-green; sides of head, hindneck, foreneck, and upper breast
bright orange, the feathers white basally; rest of lower surface
yellow, with sides and flanks washed with olive; outermost under
wing coverts dusky, tipped lightly with olive-yellow; axillars and
inner under wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of wing feathers
grayish brown.
Female, above, including side of head, olive-green, faintly darker
on crown, changing to yellowish olive-green on lower rump and upper
tail coverts; wings and tail dusky edged with olive-green; chin and
throat yellowish olive-green, chest somewhat darker; lower breast,
abdomen, and under tail coverts wax yellow, changing to yellowish
olive-green on flanks; under wing coverts and axillars as in male, but
duller colored.
Immature male, like female.
Juvenile, duller, more grayish green underneath.
An adult male, taken near Sona, Veraguas, May 21, 1953, had
the iris dull reddish brown; maxilla black; mandible slaty-black ;
tarsus and toes orange, claws light brown. Another male, at Agua-
catén, Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 7, 1966, had the iris
344 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
dark wood brown; maxilla black; acute tip of mandible light brown;
sides of the rami dusky neutral gray, rest of mandible dark neutral
gray ; tarsus and toes somewhat dark orange; claws grayish brown.
A female, February 17, 1966, from the same locality had eye, bill,
and feet like the male.
Measurements.—Males (26 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Veraguas,
and Los Santos), wing 44.8-47.9 (46.3), tail 26.0-30.2 (28.7),
culmen from base 11.2-12.2 (11.7), tarsus 19.3-21.1 (20.1) mm.
Females (22 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos),
wing 47.8-50.0 (48.7), tail 27.6-30.9 (30.3), culmen from base 11.3—
12.3 (11.8), tarsus 18.2-20.5 (19.1) mm.
Resident. Locally common in Tropical Zone thickets and open
forests of the Pacific slope from the Costa Rican line in southwestern
Chiriqui, east through southern Veraguas, and both sides of the
Azuero Peninsula; to 700 meters elevation (Buena Vista, Chiriqui;
Cerro Montuosa, on the boundary between Veraguas and Herrera).
In general habits and notes these birds are a counterpart of
Manacus v. vitellinus. On several occasions I have found males
gathered in small groups, located through their low notes and the
usual snapping sounds that accompany their displays. Always they
have been shy and difficult to see in the rather dense low undergrowth
and thickets that are their haunts. Aldrich (cit. supra, p. 97) de-
scribes a male in display “hopping around and around a triangular
course on the floor of the thicket. Each hop carried the bird over one
side of an equilateral triangle, approximately two feet on a side. Each
hop occurred at rhythmic intervals of about one second and was
accompanied by a flit of the wings and a loud snap.”
In a small area of original forest on the Rio Cobre, near Sona,
on June 13, 1953, these birds were common. A female flushed from a
bush in undergrowth came from a nest about a meter above the
ground. The frail little cup made of plant fibers, light brown in color,
was placed rather precariously in a small fork. It contained two
nestlings three or four days old. I noted that they had down on the
dorsal surface. Meise (in Schonwetter, Handb. Ool., pt. 15, 1968, p.
124, and pt. 16, 1969, p. 129) cites notes from Skutch that describe
the two eggs in a set as dull white to pale bluish gray, heavily marked
with brown, often uniformly over the entire surface, in a wreath
on the larger end, or in a wreath with only slight markings at the
ends ; measurements are 19.4—23.0 x 14.3-15.9 mm.
I found these birds in small number on the eastern side of the
Azuero Peninsula, in Herrera (La Cabuya, Santa Maria) and Los
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 345
Santos (Pedasi, Tonosi). Aldrich (in 1932) found them common on
the northwestern shore of Bahia Montijo, at Paracoté, and farther
down on the Rio Mariato. They were common in 1953 in the general
area of Sona, Veraguas, and in 1956 in eastern Chiriqui near San
Félix and Las Lajas. In 1960, I found one male at Buena Vista, above
Concepcion, at 700 meters elevation on the Rio Escarrea, and in 1966
there were a number at Aguacaton and Olivo, northeast of Puerto
Armuelles. In early collections Mrs. Davidson recorded them at FE]
Banco; Arcé collected them at Bugaba and Mina de Chorcha. In
1900 Brown secured a series at Divala. Extensive clearing of open
forests and thickets to make pastures and cultivated fields has re-
moved so much of the original cover that the Orange-collared Mana-
kin now is reduced in number over wide areas of former range.
As indicated, M. aurantiacus is a miniature representative of the
widely distributed M. v. vitellinus, similar in pattern of markings but
brighter in color and definitely smaller in size. The two are not
known to meet, the smaller form ranging in the lowland areas of the
Pacific slope to the west of the other form. It has been suggested
that the smaller bird is a race of the larger one, but this seems un-
certain from present information. Beyond Panama aurantiacus con-
tinues in the lowlands of the Pacific slope of Costa Rica where it is
found northward to the Gulf of Nicoya.
In museum specimens the orange and yellow colors of these birds
slowly fade and become paler so that there is apparent a difference
between the older preparations from western Chiriqui and Costa
Rica and freshly taken examples. These differences, when Dr. John
Aldrich made comparison with his fresh material from Veraguas, led
to his description of a separate race flaviventris, from the eastern
area of the range. While this seemed justified at the time, when I
secured fresh specimens near the type locality of true aurantiacus
these proved to be as bright in color as recently collected Veraguas
birds. In 1958, on examination of the type female of flaviventris
and others of the Aldrich collection, now in the Museum of Zoology
at the University of Michigan, I found that through post mortem
fading they did not differ now from other older skins from south-
western Costa Rica. It appeared from this that there is no basis for
recognition of two subspecies.
From a detailed study by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969,
pp. 118-147) it is learned that reproduction in this species is similar
to that of its larger relative Manacus vitellinus. Males gather in
groups in which each individual has, as his display court in under-
346 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
growth on the ground, a circular or elliptical space from 30 to 70
centimeters across (smaller than those of Manacus vitellinus). These
are kept clean of leaves and other loose material through the mating
season. The display is accompanied by calls, chee-yu, whirring and
abrupt snapping sounds made by the wings, and active movements
among the upright stems of the shrubbery around and above the
court. Females come to mate, then build their nests, incubate, and
rear the young without assistance from the males.
Nests may be located in forest or second growth in or near pastures
and fields, coffee plantations, or shrubbery near houses, usually not
far above the ground. Bits of cobweb and caterpillar silk are stretched
to form a support on the twigs of a small crotch. There the female
assembles fine strips of bark, rootlets, heads of grasses, and other
similar materials to form a shallow cup. Usually the materials chosen
are light in color, only rarely dark. The two eggs are “pale gray
or pale blue-gray, heavily mottled with shades of brown. On some
eggs the dark marks are rather uniformly distributed over the whole
surface; on others, they are concentrated in a wreath around the
large end . . . or the middle, leaving the two poles only lightly pig-
mented.” Measurements of 55 varied from 21.4x14.3 to 23.0x
15.9 mm. Nestlings have scanty gray down, with the interior of the
mouth yellow as in other smaller species of the family.
Food is taken from insects and various species of berries. Skutch
has found these manakins capturing fleeing insects above raiding ant
columns, in company with the various species of ant-birds.
SCHIFFORNIS TURDINUS (Wied): Thrushlike Manakin,
Saltarin Paralauta
Muscicapa turdina Wied, Beitr. Naturg. Brasilien, vol. 3, pt. 2, 1831, p. 817.
(Bahia, Brazil.)
Medium size; dull brown to olive-brown above; in the more com-
mon pattern of coloration, grayish olive underneath, with a rusty
brown band across the breast.
Description —Length 145-165 mm. Adult male, upper surface dull
reddish brown to olive-brown; wings and outer webs of rectrices
dull cinnamon-brown ; foreneck and upper breast pale dull cinnamon-
brown, the throat paler ; lower breast and abdomen light olive-gray to
dull olive-brown.
Adult female, similar, but usually somewhat duller.
Juvenile, upper surface rather dull reddish brown, brighter on the
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 347
crown; lower surface dull reddish brown, grayer on throat and
lower abdomen.
This is a forest species, found widely in the Tropical Zone, ranging
in mountain areas to subtropical elevations, from southern México
through Central America and northern South America to Peru,
Bolivia, and central Brazil. Through this vast area, variation in color,
although limited in total extent, is so clearly evident that twelve
geographic races have been recognized, three of them found in
Panama.
These birds live in undergrowth in forest in pairs or as scattered
individuals. While encountered regularly they are never abundant.
Usually they are not wild, but through their dull coloration and quiet
habits may remain unnoticed, as they rest on low perches, often
partly hidden among leaves. When flushed they fly rather quickly
through or above the undergrowth and disappear, seldom going
higher into the taller trees. Flight is direct and fairly rapid. Their
food is partly of insects, seized as they move among leaves, and
partly of berries, found ripening in the undergrowth, or in the feed-
ing trees attractive to many other birds.
As the nests and eggs of the subspecies of Panama are as yet not
known, data from other races may indicate what is probable for
those that live in the Republic. Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35,
1969, pp. 148-157) in Costa Rica found that S. t. veraepacis, the
form immediately adjacent to dumicola of Chiriqui, builds a bulky
nest mainly of large leaves, placed from 1 to 2 meters from the
ground amid branches and vines that support it. The deep cup is
lined with fine rootlets and similar materials. Three nests held two
eggs each, with a single egg in a fourth. These were oval, pale buff
in color, with a high gloss. They were “marked with large and small
blotches and roundish spots of black and dark brown, or black and
pale lilac, which are concentrated in a wreath around the thick end,
with a few scattered over the remaining surface.” Extreme measure-
ments in the seven seen were 25.4X19.1, 23.0X17.5, and 24.2x
15.9 mm. The female alone built the nest, incubated, and reared the
young. The latter when hatched were covered with long grayish
down.
For the race S.t. veraepacis, Smithe (Birds of Tikal, 1964, p. 157)
lists a nest in a cavity in the top of a palm stump with “two whitish
eggs.” He cites another, on the authority of E. O. Willis, of similar
location in British Honduras, ‘‘made of skeletonized dead leaves with
”
a thin lining of fine rootlets” also with two eggs. Alvarez del Toro
348 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
(Ateneo, vol. 4, 1952, pp. 14-15, fig. 6) described a nest of this race
found in Chiapas in the joint of a fallen palm leaf well hidden by
other palm fronds, 50 centimeters above the ground. The nest, made
of dead leaves and a few little sticks, lined with fine black rootlets, was
a deep, open, rounded cup 150 mm in outside diameter by 60 mm in-
side. The two eggs were cream colored, with spots and markings
of dark coffee color and gray forming an encircling band. They
measured 25 x 19.5 mm.
Eggs of the subspecies Schiffornis t. olivaceus that I examined in
the British Museum (Natural History), found by T. A. W. Davis,
April 22, 1934, on the Mahaicony River, Guyana, were in a nest in a
hollow at the bottom of a cavity in a palm stump, on a lining of a
layer of dead leaves, with a few fibers. The stump was about a
meter and a half tall, with the hole near the top. The two eggs are
subelliptical in form, faintly buffy white, spotted boldly with slaty-
black and lilac-gray, mainly in a wreath around the larger end, very
sparingly elsewhere. They measure 24.7 X 18.3 and 24.6 18.3 mm.
SCHIFFORNIS TURDINUS DUMICOLA (Bangs)
Scotothorus veraepacis dumicola Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3,
February 6, 1903, p. 103. (Divala, Chiriqui, Panama.)
Scotothorus furvus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19, September
6, 1906, p. 118. (“Boquete de Chitra” = Chitra, Veraguas, Panama.)
Characters——Rufescent, with an olive cast on the upper surface ;
chin, foreneck, and upper breast rather dull reddish brown; lower
breast, and abdomen pale olive-gray; sides, and under tail coverts
darker olive-gray ; varying to somewhat more reddish brown above,
and in the band across the breast; decidedly more olive on lower
breast, sides and abdomen. The darker shade of coloration apparently
is found in recently mature individuals.
Measurements——Males (13 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Coclé),
wing 87.5-92.2 (89.6), tail 63.0-68.6 (65.3), culmen from base 15.8-
18.6 (17.1), tarsus 20.6-23.6 (22.3) mm.
Females (5 from Veraguas), wing 84.8-88.7 (87.0), tail 58.4—
62.7 (59.8), culmen from base 16.4-17.6 (17.1, average of 3), tarsus
22.0-22.7 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in forested areas in Chiriqui, Veraguas,
and Coclé; mainly on the Pacific side, but with records from the
Caribbean slope from Calovévora, Veraguas, and northern Coclé.
While recorded from numerous localities in Chiriqui, this form
seems never to have been common there. Arcé secured it at Bugaba,
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 349
and on the southern slope of the great volcano. Brown collected a
pair at Divala in December 1900. I found one at 1300 meters above
Santa Clara, Chiriqui, March 19, 1954, and have another received
from Dr. Frank Hartman from above Palo Santo, February 26, 1960.
Mrs. M. E. Davidson collected three near Barriles—a male December
18, 1929, and two females January 17 and 20, 1931. Farther east, in
Veraguas, at Puerto Vidal on the Rio Vidal, near the boundary with
Chiriqui, on May 30, 1953, I found one in swampy woodland. An-
other was taken earlier in this area on May 25, at Zapotillo, on the
Rio Bubi (30 kilometers west of Sona). Specimens in the American
Museum of Natural History come from El Villano and La Maria,
south of Santiago. Dr. John Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. 7, 1937, p. 98) in February and March 1932 collected
a series in southeastern Veraguas, at Paracoté, on the western shore
of the Golfo de Montijo, and inland along the Rio Mariato to 900
meters on Cerro Viejo. He recorded it as “rather common in the
undergrowth of the more heavily forested regions at all elevations
visited but because of its secretive habits would usually have been
overlooked had it not been for its rather musical calls.”
This form is recorded also on the Caribbean slope of Veraguas,
where Arcé collected it in his early work at Calovévora. I have seen
two of his specimens from that locality in the British Museum
(Natural History). Others were taken by Benson on the Rio Calo-
vévora in 1925. On March 1, 1962, I captured one in a mist net on
the head of the Rio Guabal on the Caribbean slope of northern
Coclé. One in the National Museum was collected at Cascajal, Cocle,
March 3, 1889.
When Ridgway described this bird as the race furvus, because of
its darker coloration compared to veraepacis, the population of north-
ern Central America, he overlooked Bangs’ earlier name dumicola
based on the same difference.
SCHIFFORNIS TURDINUS PANAMENSIS Hellmayr
Schiffornis turdinus panamensis Hellmayr, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser.,
Publ. 266, vol. 13, pt. 6, November 14, 1929, p. 84. (El Real, Darién, Panama.)
Characters.—Paler, more reddish brown above; paler also on the
under surface, with the foreneck (except the chin) and upper breast
brighter reddish brown, compared with the lower breast and abdomen,
which are grayish olive.
A female, taken at La Jagua, Panama, January 14, 1962, had the
iris wood brown; cutting edge of both maxilla and mandible, and
350 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the gape dull honey yellow; rest of maxilla and tip of mandible dull
black ; rest of mandible neutral gray, becoming paler at base; tarsus
and toes neutral gray, with a faint brownish cast.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 89.0-93.1 (91.0), tail 61.0-66.5 (64.5),
culmen from base 16.0-17.7 (16.6), tarsus 21.0-22.8 (22.0) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 87.0-90.0 (88.6), tail 56.8-62.0 (60.5), culmen from
base 15.3-17.7 (16.8), tarsus 21.4-22.9 (21.8) mm.
Resident. Widely distributed in lowland areas from the western
edge of the Canal Zone eastward on the Pacific slope through eastern
Province of Panama and Darién to Colombia; on the Caribbean side,
from Barro Colorado Island and eastern Province of Colén (Porto-
belo) to eastern San Blas (Permé).
Dr. Eisenmann informs me that years ago he examined one caught
in a mist net on Cerro Campana, western Province of Panama, but
did not make full notes on it as the current understanding of sub-
species in this bird was then unknown. It is probable that this may
have been the race panamensis near its western boundary, but this
needs verification. While these birds are not common, there are
numerous records from the lower Chagres Valley, near Gamboa,
Juan Mina, and Frijoles, and on Barro Colorado Island. Goldman
collected a male at Portobelo, Colon, on May 30, 1911. Griscom
(Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72, 1932, p. 355) recorded one taken by
von Wedel at Permé, San Blas. These two are the only records at
present for the eastern Caribbean seaboard. From the adjacent
northern end of Chocd, Colombia, the National Museum has speci-
mens collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., in 1949 at Acandi, and in 1950
at Unguia.
In Darién these birds are widely distributed in the valleys of the
Chucunaque and Tuira Rivers, also near the coast at Jaqué, and inland
on the Rio Jaqué. In late January and early February 1961, I found
them fairly common at about 475 meters on the base of Cerro Pirre.
The race panamensis continues in northwestern Colombia through
the valleys of the Rio Sint and the Rio Cauca (with its tributary
the Rio Nechi). A paler race S.t. stenorhynchus replaces it farther
east along the lower Rio Magdalena.
Eisenmann and others have recorded the loud, emphatic call, heard
in the Canal Zone, as of four notes, wéyoo, whit-whit, wé-o-o-o, the
two in the middle short and the last prolonged.
From examination of stomachs I have found the food to be cater-
pillars, cicadas, and small berries.
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 351
SCHIFFORNIS TURDINUS ACROLOPHITES subsp. nov.
Characters.—Similar to Schiffornis turdinus dumicola but darker,
decidedly more olive in general coloration; both chin and throat
chestnut-brown.
Description Holotype, U.S. National Museum no. 484592, ¢
from 1425 meters elevation on Cerro Mali, Darién, collected Febru-
ary 22, 1964, by A. Wetmore (original no. 25941). Crown, hindneck,
back, and scapulars between deep olive and dark olive, changing on
rump and upper tail coverts to deep olive; shorter feathers of fore-
head with grayish bases, faintly visible beneath the darker tips; wings
basally fuscous-black, with the outer webs of wing coverts and
secondaries olive-brown; outer webs of primaries narrowly edged
with buffy olive-brown; tail fuscous-black, with the outer webs dull
olive-brown; side of head deep olive; chin and upper foreneck buffy
brown; lower foreneck, breast, and sides deep olive; center of abdo-
men and under tail coverts between citrine drab and dark olive;
axillars and under wing coverts light grayish olive.
A male from Cerro Mali, Darién, February 22, 1964, had the iris
brown; cutting edge of maxilla at base pale neutral gray; rest of
maxilla and anterior half of mandible black; rest of mandible dark
neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (11 from Cerro Mali and Cerro Tacarcuna,
Darién), wing 91.0-93.4 (92.3), tail 64.0-70.3 (68.7), culmen from
base 16.6-19.5 (17.7), tarsus 21.3-23.3 (22.3) mm.
Females (2 from Cerro Mali, Darién), wing 85.0, 85.6; tail 58.8,
63.1; culmen from base 17.0, 18.1; tarsus 22.4, 22.4 mm.
Resident. Fairly common in the upper Tropical and lower Sub-
tropical Zones across the higher levels of Cerro Mali and Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién, extending beyond the international boundary into
northern Department of Choco, Colombia.
This is a darker, more olive population, found in the higher moun-
tains in eastern Darién. In early collections from this area specimens
were labeled “Tacarcuna” without regard to the elevation at which
they were collected. Part, taken near the old Tacarcuna village site
(at 600 meters elevation or less) are the paler panamensis. Others
from the top of the ridge, at above 1400 meters, are definitely dif-
ferent in darker coloration. Early attempts were made to identify
these with S.t. “furvus’ (=dumicola) of the Subtropical Zone of
Chiriqui, which is more rufescent, and from which they differ in more
olive hue. The highland form here described continues in Choco,
western Colombia, apparently to the Serrania de Baudo. S.t. rosen-
352 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
bergi of southwestern Colombia (Narifio) and northern Ecuador, also
is dark, but has wings and tail more olive-gray, less rufescent, the
throat paler, less rufescent, and is somewhat smaller.
On Cerro Mali and the adjacent slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna these
birds were fairly common, often in or near areas of cloud forest.
They ranged in fairly dense undergrowth, perching amid the lower
stands, but well above the ground. Several were captured in mist
nets. Their call was a three-noted tsick-sweet-tsee, given slowly with
a 2-second interval between the separate notes.
One had eaten a large orthopteran. The stomach of another held
finely ground insect remains that I did not identify.
The considerable change in color in museum specimens of Schif-
fornis turdinus, through which the birds become darker, apparently
has been responsible, in part at least, for confusion in understanding
the variation found in this species through the Isthmus of Panama.
The difficulty began when Hellmayr, in his review (Cat. Birds
Amer., Part 6, 1929, p. 85), listed the subspecies dumicola, described
by Bangs in 1903, as not separable from the population veraepacis
of farther north in Central America. He then used the next available
name furvus, a synonym of dumicola, named in 1906 by Ridgway,
for the birds of western Panama and of the eastern mountains. At
the same time he described the paler lowland form of the eastern
lowlands as a separate race panamensis.
When the first collections from Darién including this species came
to hand, it was not recognized that the series from that area included
both the lowland panamensis from the foothill area, and a darker
form from the higher levels, so that all were labeled as identical with
the birds of the western Panamanian highlands.
The name for this race has been taken from the Greek acrolophites.
a mountaineer.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED IN COMPARISONS:
Schiffornis turdinus veraepacis. Guatemala—Petén: Remate, 6; Santa Rita, ¢;
Laguna Sos, 2 ¢. Honduras—Chamelicon, 2; Santa Ana, 2; San Pedro Sula,
3d. Costa Rica—Jiménez, ¢, 2; Angostura, 9; Cervantes, ¢.
Schiffornis turdinus dumicola, Panama—Chiriqui: Santa Clara, 0; El Volcan,
2 3d. Veraguas: Rio Calovévora, 32; Puerto Vidal, ¢; Sona, 2; Santa Fé, 3,
2; Chitra, f (type of furvus Ridgway). Coclé: Head of Rio Guabal, 3;
Cascajal, 3.
Schiffornis turdinus panamensis. Panama—Canal Zone: Juan Mina, 6, 9.
Province of Panama: La Jagua, 6, 2; Cafiita, 6; Chepo, 22; Chiman, 9;
Charco del Toro, 6, 9. Colén: Portobello, ¢. Darién: Yaviza, &; Boca de
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 353
Paya, 2; old Tacarcuna village site, 2d, 2; lower slopes of Cerro Pirre,
23, 42; Jaqué, 2.
Schiffornis turdinus rosenbergi. Colombia—Serrania de Baudo, 20; Novita
Trail, 6; Buena Vista, 2; Barbacoas, 9. Ecuador—Alamor, 6; Lita, d, 2;
Chimbo, ¢'; Esmeraldas, 3, 2; Paramba 6; Cachyjacu, d, 9.
SAPAYOA AENIGMA UHartert: Broad-billed Manakin,
Verdon de Montana
Figure 33
Sapayoa aenigma Hartert, Nov. Zool., vol. 10, April 20, 1903, p. 117. (Rio
Sapayo = Rio Zapallo Grande, northern Ecuador.)
Rather small; olive-green above; greenish yellow below; male
with a concealed yellow streak in the crown; otherwise unmarked.
Description—Length 135-150 mm. Adult male, olive-green on
upper surface; a broad longitudinal streak of yellow in center of
crown, with the feathers tipped and edged with olive-green so that
the brighter color is nearly or wholly concealed ; wings and tail dusky,
edged with yellowish green and olive-green; under surface, includ-
ing under tail coverts, yellowish centrally, with side and flanks
washed with olive.
Female somewhat duller, without a crown patch.
A male taken on Cerro Pirre, February 1, 1961, had the iris reddish
brown; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray; upper half of tarsus
fuscous ; lower half and toes neutral gray.
A female, at Armila, San Blas, March 3, 1963, had the iris auburn ;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws black; inside of mouth
and tongue honey yellow.
Measurements——Males (10 from eastern Province of Panama,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 80.0-83.8 (82.1), tail 56.1-61.0 (58.4),
culmen from base 16.8-18.3 (17.3), tarsus 14.0-15.2 (14.4) mm.
Females (10 from eastern Province of Panama, Darién, San Blas,
and Chocé, Colombia), wing 77.4-83.1 (80.3), tail 54.5-59.0 (57.0),
culmen from base 15.3-18.7 (16.7), tarsus 14.2-15.2 (14.7) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forested areas in the Tropical Zone
from the northern Canal Zone (Gamboa), and the lower Chagres
Valley eastward in Colon and San Blas to Colombia, and from the
Cerro Azul through Darién; to 1370 meters on Cerro Pirre in the
lower edge of the Subtropical Zone.
The first specimens known from the Republic were a male and
a female collected by E. A. Goldman on Cerro Pirre, Darién, near
the head of the Rio Limon, on April 29 and May 2, 1912. Four males
354 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
in the American Museum of Natural History were taken by W. B.
Richardson in 1915, in eastern Darién, near Tapalisa, March 14,
at the old village site on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna April 7 and 9,
and at Cituro on the Rio Cupe, May 13. Barbour (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 215) in April 1922 found it abundant along
the streams on the base of Cerro Sapo, Darién, and secured eight
Figure 33.—Broad-billed manakin, verdén de montafia, Sapayoa aenigma.
adults. Benson sent a male taken at Cana in 1928, to Griscom; and
in 1931 and subsequently, H. von Wedel forwarded others from
Permé, Ranchon, and Puerto Obaldia on the Caribbean coast of San
Blas. April 4, 1949, W. M. Perrygo and I collected male and female
at Jaqué, Darién, near the Colombian border, and April 23, 1949, I
took a female on Cerro Azul. In recent years they have been found
rather regularly along the pipeline road back of Gamboa, Canal Zone,
where several have been caught in mist nets and banded by E. Tyson,
FAMILY PIPRIDAE 355
F. Chapman, and James Karr. R. S. Ridgely banded one at Rio
Piedras, eastern Colon, February 22, 1969. It appears that the
species ranges locally in Panama from the Canal Zone eastward.
In Colombia it now is known from the upper Sint Valley in Cordoba
westward, along the Pacific slope from the Serrania de Baudo (Rios
Jurubida and Nuqui) south to Narifio, continuing south into northern
Ecuador.
This interesting bird, like a flycatcher in general appearance and
habits, I have found mainly in hill country, usually near small
streams that flow through forest. The birds range through the tops
of the undergrowth and the lower branches of the trees, where the
subdued light so masks their soft shades of color that close scrutiny
may be required to distinguish them from a common dull-colored
flycatcher of equal size and somewhat similar in its actions, the
Olivaceous Flat-bill (Ahynchocyclus olivaceus). The shorter legs
of Sapayoa that give it a somewhat different stance, with the body a
little lower against the twigs on which it rests, may attract the eye, and
its duller coloration and unmarked wings serve to identify it. The
birds may range in pairs, singly, or with moving bands of other small
forest birds. Occasionally I found them among chattering flocks of
Olive Tanagers (Chlorothraupis carmioli). In the latter case, while
they suggest the tanagers in dull color, they differ in posture and
smaller form. Sapayoa may move quickly, but then pauses with tail
hanging down while it peers about, suggesting then the duller
colored Schiffornis turdinus. Those that I have seen have been
silent. Karr describes their calls as resembling somewhat those of the
Blue-crowned Manakin but less musical.
In the hand, the short legs and the large wings, broad for the size
of the body, attract attention, as does the rather long and fairly dense
body plumage. In preparing specimens I have noted in the pterylosis
a narrow, elongated apterion in the lower half of the expanded
dorsal tract that continues down into the narrowed distal line on the
upper rump. In the skull the cranium is rounded, elevated, and firm.
The nest and eggs have not been recorded, except that Hartert in the
original description (p. 118) wrote that the bird collector had two
eggs, which however were not forwarded with the specimen.
The small series here in Washington from the base of the Serrania
de Baudo in central Chocd, Colombia, averages very faintly more
olive than that from Panama, a difference that appears too slight to
warrant a name.
The true family relationship of this species is still to be established.
356 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Hartert, in the original description, placed the bird tentatively in the
Pipridae, an allocation that has been followed with some uncertainty
by others. Skeletons are now available, but no specimens in alcohol,
so that other detailed anatomical data still are lacking. Current treat-
ment is followed here in default of firm decision. It seems probable
that the true relationship is with the Cotingidae, though allocation in
the Tyrannidae also has been suggested.
Family TYRANNIDAE: Tyrant Flycatchers, Atrapamoscas
This family, found only in the Americas, one of evident South
American affinity, has 88 species recorded in Panama. These are
distributed most abundantly throughout the Tropical Zone, but with
certain kinds adapted for life in the mountain areas where suitable
cover exists for them. Fourteen kinds are winter migrants from the
north, the others residents. The family as a whole may number
more individuals than any other in this avifauna.
One species, the Pied Water-tyrant, or Pozera, is a ground in-
habitant found only in a limited area of swamplands near the coast,
east of Panama City. A number of kinds seek perches where they
have open view in their watch for insect food, a habitat that some
find along the highways, in pastures, marshes, and savanna lands.
In careful watching it is found also that some find these open spaces
in the sun across the top of the leaf crown on the high summit of
extensive forests.
Where a species is resident throughout the Isthmus, it is common
to find slightly differing geographic races in the west and in the
east. Some also, with more northern distribution, especially in high-
land areas, are restricted to the western section, near Costa Rica.
Others in the east, especially on Cerro Tacarcuna and Cerro Pirre,
may have affinity with species of the western Andes of Colombia.
Many in the family are of medium or small size. The smaller ones
include one of the smallest of the Passeriform group, the tiny Black-
capped Pygmy-tyrant (Perissotriccus atricapillus). Nests in the
main are cup shaped, placed on the branches of shrubs or trees.
Others are varied to pendant, suspended globes that suggest masses
of waste vegetation. A few use cavities in tree trunks. One species,
the Piratic Fly-catcher, (Legatus leucophaius), usurps nests made
by other birds, often of species of much larger size. The eggs in a
few may be plain white, but those of the majority are spotted lightly
or heavily with shades of brown, which varies to gray when the color
is overlaid by a deposit of shell material.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 357
The group has close allies in the cotinga family, also of American
origin. Though detailed anatomy of many is still unknown, it seems
probable that as information develops these two assemblages, as
treated at present, may be united under subfamily headings. Other
than this, the closest alliance is with the Manakins, the family
Pipridae.
KEY TO SPECIES OF TYRANNIDAE: TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
1. One pair of the tail feathers much elongated, projecting definitely beyond
those adjacent) 2s Tee. Meld oie ce lerdale Matar e ae Lean Seen yeettaatel eats = 2
Tail feathers all of equal or nearly equal length...................... 4
2. The two central rectrices elongated.
Long-tailed tyrant, Colonia colonus leuconota, p. 367
The two lateral feathers, one on either side, elongated................ 3
3. Crown black ; under surface white.
10.
Ll:
12.
Fork-tailed flycatcher, Muscivora tyrannus monachus, p. 375
Crown light gray; sides and under tail coverts pink to red.
Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Muscivora forficata, p. 373
Dull black above and below, except for white abdomen and slight wing
IMapnkeingss ss sea ee Black phoebe, Savornis nigricans, p. 364
Not extensively dull black above and below..................++-2-> 5
White, or faintly grayish white on lower surface, without markings; size
medium: yengthymonre thant lO0Okmm-nien ye aeoc so eee cis cine erences 6
Not white, or grayish white as above, or length less than 100 mm.... 9
Under surface, forecrown, back, and rump pure white.
Pied water-tyrant, Fluvicola pica pica, p. 370
Under surface white, with breast faintly grayish; no white in crown.... 7
Crown wholly black; back light gray.
Sirystes, Sirystes sibilator albogriseus, p. 433
Crown with a central area of scarlet or red; back darker............ 8
Crown and back gray; tail dusky.
Gray kingbird, Tyrannus dominicensis dominicensis, p. 382
Crown black; back blackish slate; tail black with white tip.
Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, p. 379
Under surface bright red (male), or flanks, under tail coverts, pink to
light red (female)....Vermilion flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, p. 372
Winder wsuniacey nots med Ase h ats wars ak cers ner deta tot eels evclsitaralsyavci rere ore letr< 10
A large, broad crest of orange to red.
Royal flycatcher, Onychorhynchus mexicanus fraterculus, p. 496
Not. broadly. or brightly \erestedien ne secs acl s reiate nie stevete le iavel ester | 11
Medium to large size, length 180-200 mm; breast and throat buff, lightly
streaked; or entire under surface heavily streaked.................. 12
Size ‘andiimankingsmnoteas: above. seat tae arene ie ieee emcee 14
Breast and throat buff, lightly streaked; back and hindneck greenish
gray, without markings.
Golden-crowned flycatcher, Myiodynastes chrysocephalus minor, p. 401
Heavily streaked above and below; tail rufous, with a dark shaft line.. 13
358 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
13, Chin dusky, this color extended along the jaw on either side.
Sulphur-bellied flycatcher, Myiodynastes luteiventris, p. 392
Chin} white. jo.iasine< nit Streaked flycatcher, Myiodynastes maculatus, p. 395
14. Body color brown to rufous-brown throughout, darker above, lighter
THU hea apis, bach Wa coe neon ade dew nia ahaa RTA Oe SOE eee ee 15
Body color not uniformly light or rufous-brown throughout......... 17
15. Wing coverts dusky or barred with dusky.
Speckled mourner, Laniocera rufescens rufescens, p. 441
Wing caverts. rufeus-browm, like, back wanes eeeaes wae cep oe ch cls es 16
16. Larger, wing 120 mm or more.
Rufous piha, Lipaugus unirufus unirufus, p. 446
Smaller, wing less than 105 mm.
Rufous mourner, Rhytipterna holerythra holerythra, p. 444
17. With a white, yellow, or buffy yellow patch on the rump and upper tail
COVERES FAT Oye See creed oa ee ee te ee eis oi eee eae ne sree atte ore 18
With no; light-colored “patch on the’ rump) 2) 22068 a. 21
18. Larger, total length 160-180 mm; body robust; breast distinctly streaked
With Horaye is wey Bee es sie Bright-rumped attila, Attila spadiceus, p. 436
Smaller, total length 140 mm or less; body slender, breast without distinct
SIME IES) VERE a Nec SU NET Sater Rated the ofa cased ve hates emcee 19
19. Breast and foreneck grayish brown.
Lesser black-tailed flycatcher, Myiobius atricaudus, p. 491
Breast, lower foreneck, and sides distinctly reddish brown............. 20
20. Darker, duller-colored; abdomen paler, whiter; larger, length 130-140 mm.
Greater black-tailed flycatcher, Myiobius villosus villosus, p. 490
Brighter colored, more reddish brown on sides; lower breast and abdomen
brighter yellow; smaller, length 115-125 mm.
Sulphur-rumped flycatcher, Myiobius sulphureipygius aureatus, p. 487
21° Throathwhitesmestiot under surfaceiyellow. sie. aon. a. dee se eee 2: - 22,
Colorsotjunder surface mniotyas, ‘abovers ciciot series aoe aan eee 29
22. Larger; length more than 190 mm; body heavier, bill stronger...... 23
Smaller; length less than 170 mm; body slender, bill smaller......... 25
23. Bill large, heavy, with culmen elevated and strongly ridged; back paler,
grayer....Boat-billed flycatcher, Megarynchus pitangua mexicanus, p. 403
Bill of moderate; sizevand! form) backedarker.5.- 4250. osc e eee 24
24. Wing coverts, wings, and tail dusky, a white line on black jaw area.
Golden-bellied flycatcher, Myiodynastes hemichrysus, p. 400
Wing coverts, wings, and tail strongly rufescent ; no white line on jaw area.
Great kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus guatimalensis, p. 417
25. Without a prominent white superciliary line.
Gray-capped flycatcher, Myiozetetes granadensis, p. 413
With’ a prominent white superciliary lines... sasoasoe sere eee eee 26
26. White superciliary lines confluent across forehead, and broadly across
hindneck.?
1In immature Pitangus lictor there is a narrow white band across the hind-
neck that is not present in the adult. Birds of this species in the immature stage
may be identified by the paler, browner back, and the longer, narrower bill,
21.7-25 mm long. In Coryphotriccus the back is blacker, and the bill 19-20 mm.
27:
28.
zo.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
an
38.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 359
White-ringed flycatcher, Coryphotriccus parvus albovittatus, p. 406
Hindneck without white (except as noted in footnote 1)............... 27
Bill long, narrow throughout, length 21.7-25.0 mm; feathers of hind crown
somewhat elongated...Lesser kiskadee, Pitangus lictor panamensis, p. 420
Billvshortebroaderpatebaseses we cits seule a ois cies che eaehe aictaislels Setva.ele 28
Darker above, more dusky; crown black; with inner webs of wings
rufescent.
Rusty-margined flycatcher, Myiozetetes cayanensis harterti, p. 408
Grayer above, including the crown; inner webs of wings not strongly
rufescent.
Vermilion-crowned flycatcher, Myiosetetes similis columbianus, p. 410
Upper breast and foreneck gray in adult (varied to whitish in part in
juvenile dress) ; lower breast, sides and under tail coverts yellow; bill
broad sheavysunecolor dark tovdtsisye5 een oie ce miele cine 30
INGteAS sin thera DOVeRemarri es aatrcertere ci cretiets voiein cieieimtielstarerst et erences 33
Smaller ; wing not more than 80 mm; crown black.
Dusky-capped flycatcher, Myiarchus tuberculifer, p. 429
Wagers WING MOGe nt hanno me IliNsris sere eines ieikeieie islet ieoinieioreieiene 31
Paler, grayer above with crown and hindneck lighter-colored ; an indistinct
dark line through eye... Tropical kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus, p. 383
Darker, more dusky above, crown and back mainly similar in color.... 32
Tail feathers with inner webs entirely rufous; brighter yellow below.
Great crested flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus, p. 422
Tail without rufous (or if present in juvenile, the rufous reduced to a
narrow margin around the web); paler yellow on abdomen.
Short-crested flycatcher, Myiarchus ferox panamensis, p. 426
Bill short, broad at base, the basal width more than three-fourths the
Mena thai 3 fei 3 chee ee rbeae bavey eye nto Ree tee eee eee en Nd 34
Bill not much broadened basally in proportion to its length.......... 38
Larger, tail longer, two-thirds or more the length of wing............ 35
Smaller, tail shorter, less than half the length of wing............... SY/
Upper surface dusky; breast and sides streaked with dusky.
Piratic flycatcher, Legatus leucophaius, p. 388
WipperMsurtace-erayaSh Greens ser toe cide eo claete ee aoke arene eee eee serene 36
Darker grayish green; more heavily marked on breast and sides; a narrow
white ring around eye.
Eye-ringed flatbill, Rhynchocyclus brevirostris, p. 514
Lighter grayish green; less heavily marked on breast and sides; white
ring around eye narrower, less evident.
Olivaceous flatbill, Rhynchocyclus olivaceus bardus, p. 512
Throat white ; darker, more reddish brown above.
White-throated spade-bill, Platyrinchus mystaceus neglectus, p. 504
Throat pale yellow ; greener on the back.
Golden-crowned spade-bill, Platyrinchus coronatus superciliaris, p. 501
Breast band, under tail coverts, and tail dull brown; size medium.
Brown flycatcher, Cnipodectes subbrunneus panamensis, p. 506
INDtaaS sd DOVE Sasa ein clonic Narn cIOie ToL ONe Cae ae IE IEPs vets <b iso eie 39
360 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
39. A concealed but well-marked tuft of white feathers at either side of lower
back; 2° mediim ‘size, length 155-180 rnmt. os... ce uw nse as anenes 40
Without concealed white tufts on the sides of the lower back.......... 41
40. Sides dusky; throat, center of breast, and abdomen white.
Olive-sided flycatcher, Nuttallornis borealis, p. 448
Throat, breast, and sides wholly dusky, without white.
Dark pewee, Contopus lugubris, p. 449
41. Under surface wholly or partly pale cinnamon to rufous-brown......... 42
Wndersuriace withowty rafous-browims. <0. chee ones at Seles Se tieee: 44
42. Lower breast and abdomen pale cinnamon-brown; foreneck dark gray, with
paler shaft lines.
Ochre-bellied flycatcher, Pipromorpha oleaginea, p. 595
Breast. and joreneck fuicus-browmMs,... sist -eayard .s sao emleeestta ow 8s 43
43. Rump, wings, tail, and lower surface rufous-brown; size very small.
Ruddy-tailed flycatcher, Terenotriccus erythrurus fulvigularis, p. 483
Wings and tail dusky, breast and foreneck rufous-brown, abdomen and
under tail coverts similar, or yellow.
Tufted flycatcher, Mitrephanes phaeocercus, p. 479
44. Above greenish olive; foreneck, breast, and sides light olive, with narrow
yellowish and whitish shaft-line streaks.
Olive-striped flycatcher, Mionectes olivaceus, p. 592
Colors* and **pattertie not astaDOVe: cans sc Ge oe ees eas ea coe ee 45
45. A prominent central crown patch of orange, yellow, or white.......... 46
Without central crown patch, or if present, white and partly or wholly
GORGCALE MS aieh teers Mies rareins Aete Ue eas oak CMON MSE, RRR arta © 49
46. Crown patch white...... Gray elaenia, Myiopagis caniceps absitta, p. 565
Crownspateh yellowaor orange ss 12 bette cites cise minitie ee .ateunes 47
47. No definite wing bars. .Greenish elaenia, Myiopagis viridicata accola, p. 560
With two white on whitish wine? bags... sce secs ee acer ee 48
48. Larger, length 112-125 mm.
Forest elaenia, Myiopagis gaimardu macilvainii, p. 563
Small, length 92-100 m.
Yellow-crowned tyrannulet, Tyrannulus elatus panamensis, p. 578
49. Throat, foreneck, and upper breast gray to greenish gray; abdomen white
to pale yellowish white; back somewhat greenish gray; bill more
MIGHGGEG ies eile o.© Goan at tagi ea RNS 3-2 Ore Oe cats tN acer a totale aa ee Fe 50
Throat white; lower foreneck, upper breast, and more or less of sides light
or dark gray, usually with a somewhat olive cast; mandible paler, at
leasthiat) base; bill vaveraging: broaderecoc a ssh ose esses ee eee 53
50. Throat, foreneck, and upper breast, crown and back clearer, plainer gray;
abdomen faintly paler, clearer yellow; bill slightly broader at the tip,
and blacker on mandible.
Scrub flycatcher, Sublegatus arenarum arenarum, p. 570
Throat, foreneck, and upper surface definitely more greenish gray; bill
more slender at tip, with mandible paler, at least at base............. 51
2 Found also in Mitrephanes phaeocercus, which differs in smaller size, wing
125 mm or less, and has the entire foreneck and breast rufous-brown.
3 Juvenile Empidonax atriceps may have a reddish brown band across the
breast (not found in the adult).
St
52.
5S:
54.
55:
56.
57.
58.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 361
Crest more prominent, pointed, with a definite white stripe in center ;
abdomen somewhat brighter yellow.
Yellow-bellied elaenia, Elaenia flavogaster, p. 555
Crest less evident, with white restricted in amount or absent; somewhat
duller) yellow, onthe, .abdomien\24..0)c.2ie(esitele os Pesos a aaiess cro etalelele) 52
Slightly larger (average male, wing 80.9, tail 71.2; female, wing 75.1, tail
66.1 mm.); white on tertials somewhat more extensive; no white in
crown, or if present, much reduced.
Mountain elaenia, Elaenia frantzu frantzu, p. 549
Slightly smaller, more slender (average male, wing 74.2, tail 62.3; female,
wing 67.8, tail 56.6 mm.); white in tertials less in amount; white in
crown reduced, usually completely hidden.
Lesser elaenia, Elaenia chiriquensis chiriquensis, p. 552
Darker, dusky above, with crown and tail averaging blacker than back;
throat and abdomen white, somewhat grayish white to faintly yellowish
NURILeS Om MShigntly \DUhYon tay eS A> cls oo oa ielaseiare bole Gim'aiele s erm iene peters 54
Slightly brownish to faintly greenish olive above, with crown and _ tail
generally similar, but in some these areas slightly darker than the back;
throat and abdomen white to grayish white, or in some yellowish.... 57
Averaging larger, length 135-145 mm; dorsal surface less blackish, with
cfown, back, and tail more uniform im hue......-0.....----.....+20s- a5
Averaging smaller, more slender, length 120-135 mm, with crown and
tail distinctly” blacker’ thranw back cpp. e <8 «oie yh etereparsl «qatar enh atohavovereye’s 56
Above more greenish olive; axillars and under wing coverts white to
pale grayish brown edged with white; longest upper tail covert shorter,
with distance from its tip to end of tail greater, in males 33.9-36.8; in
females 32.0-35.5 mm; mandible dull white to pale buff, with only the tip
Gankermtern pease or iosite ties Eastern wood pewee, Contopus virens, p. 452
Above darker, more olive; axillars and under wing coverts gray to brown,
varying in shade but without white; distance from tip of longest upper
tail coverts to end of tail less, in males 29.9-32.6, in females 27.8-32.6 mm ;
most of mandible darker, blacker.
Western wood pewee, Contopus sordidulus, p. 455
Loral area grayish white; white eye-ring indistinct; throat and abdomen
white to very pale yellowish; larger, length 120-135 mm.
Tropical pewee, Contopus cinereus, p. 459
Loral area indistinctly grayish; white eye-ring wider, especially around back
of eye; much smaller, length 105-115 mm.
Black-capped flycatcher, Empidona-x atriceps, p. 466
Axillars and under wing coverts distinctly buff to cinnamon-buff.4.... 58
Axillars and under wing coverts white to pale yellow, not buff....... 59
Distinctly reddish brown to buffy brown above; breast and sides heavily
streaked with dusky.
Bran-colored flycatcher, Myiophobus fasciatus furfurosus, p. 494
Olive-brown above; breast and sides not heavily streaked.
White-throated flycatcher, Empidonax albigularis australis, p. 471
4 Some juvenile Empidonax minimus have the carpal edge of the wing and the
axillars pale buff, in addition to this color on the wing bands.
362
59.
60.
61,
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Lower surface white to very faintly yellow..................cceeeeee 60
Lower surface wholly or partly light yellow to strongly yellow........ 63
Sixth primary with outer web definitely narrowed, sinuated on outer end;
slightly smaller ; wing 59-67 mm.
Least flycatcher, Empidonax minimus, p. 468
Sixth primary with outer web slightly if at all narrowed or sinuated;
larger ~ing,..more, than. FO tame, . drheues wae. ghee ck Oia ok 61
Distinctly greenish gray above; with a prominent white eye-ring; breast
band less strongly marked.
Acadian flycatcher, Empidonax virescens, p. 465
Browner, less greenish, more olive above; band on breast more definitely
MMAP KE. a s:snere ic esq, coy etece Oe OIE e ORI clas SR OE Ee is 62
Dorsal surface dark olive-green, with a distinct greenish cast.
Alder flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, p. 473
Dorsal surface browner, with little or no greenish cast.
Traill’s flycatcher, Empidonax trailliui, p. 475
larger, length more thang 5 cinmipecs - peers. one seta steieeke «nero 64
Smallen to very small Jength VO sit coreless jeje: cvepetcneteereleltietel aera acel 70
Above yellowish green; lower surface deep yellow, more or less buffy
across breast ; a prominent white eye-ring.
Yellowish flycatcher, Empidonax flavescens flavescens, p. 469
Above duller, less yellowish green; breast and abdomen lighter yellow; eye-
ring absent or less prominent; larger, length 120 mm............... 65
Darker, more olive-green above; edgings on wings nearly or entirely white;
throat more yellowish white.
Yellow-bellied flycatcher, Empidonax flaviventris, p. 463
Lighter green on back; wing edgings buff or greenish white........... 66
Back and crown closely similar, somewhat more buffy green; lower sides
and flanks yellow, with the dark breast band sharply different from yellow
LOWer: JDRedS tec cect cicists esate) ov: Black-billed flycatcher, Praedo audax, p. 485
Crown of different shade than the back; chin in general similar to
POLEMIC reo) pits oroase eee Sie aie Te ee Fe ea cis RRO ER ee TSE ACA AE ete 67
Bill broader, with mandible lighter in color; crown grayer; back and
fail edgings: lighter eTeens A. 15 oa siveacpicis Sainte ae eke Ee eee 68
Bill slender: ‘blacker + crown blacker than, Wack. . 5.4.5 he usin ete 69
Light greenish gray above, and on breast; especially on the head, and
edging on tail; tail slightly shorter.
Yellow-margined flycatcher, Tolmomyias assimilis flavotectus, p. 510
Darker green above; breast and foreneck slightly greenish gray ; tail slightly
longer.
Yellow-olive flycatcher, Tolmomvyias sulphurescens flavo-olivaceus, p. 508
Crown blackish brown; forehead, lores, and auricular region duller, browner.
Sepia-capped flycatcher, Leptopogon amaurocephalus, p. 585
Crown somewhat greenish black; side of forehead, lores, and auricular
region mixed dull black and white.
Slaty-capped flycatcher, Leptopogon superciliaris, p. 589
Very dark, blackish brown on upper surface; sides, under tail coverts,
and prominent breast band dark brown.
Olive-crowned pygmy-tyrant, Pseudotriccus pelzelni berlepschi, p. 537
Dorsal surface lighter colored, gray or greenish to light brown...... 71
al.
#2,
73.
74.
75:
70.
df.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 363
Crown to back uniform dull drab-brown.
Mouse-colored tyrannulet, Phaeomyias murina eremonoma, p. 547
Backwencenish. yellowish: On grays. iCal ees ote cc Sec ae hee we ae V2
Distinctly crested; crown reddish cinnamon spotted with black.
Scale-crested pygmy-tyrant, Lophotriccus pileatus luteiventris, p. 529
iEleadinoticnested>)andsnotispotteds with) black-m- seme eee oss ceclee oni 73
Back light gray; under surface white to very pale grayish white without
markings. .2....- Torrent tyrannulet, Serpophaga cinerea grisea, p. 544
Bill relatively large and strongly decurved, especially on the line of the
culmeni(Genuss Oncostoiala ee ote ae ac eee 74
Bill straight, not strongly decurved
Throat and upper breast yellowish, lined indistinctly with olive-gray.
Southern bentbill, Oncostoma olivaceum, p. 527
Throat and upper breast gray, lined with dull white.
Northern bentbill, Oncostoma cinereigulare, p. 525
Billrelativelyalones broadsand flat sce eeceeeiecice seine eee Oke aon 76
Bilishort. switheshagply pointed tipss..ceee eee ee Oe 78
Breast gray, streaked lightly with white; abdomen and under tail coverts
white to pale yellow.
Slaty-headed tody-flycatcher, Todirostrum sylvia schistaceiceps, p. 523
Breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts bright yellow................. igh
Crown and hindneck deep black, upper back bright yellowish green, throat
white. ...... Black-headed tody-flycatcher, Todirostrum nigriceps, p. 517
Only the forecrown black; rest of upper surface gray to yellowish green;
throat bright yellow.
Common tody-flycatcher, Todirostrum cinereum finitimum, p. 519
Lores and narrow line over eye chestnut-brown.
Rufous-browed tyrannulet, Phylloscartes superciliaris, p. 540
Lores and line over eye not chestnut-brown.................0...00.: 79
Foreneck and breast white, streaked with dark gray.
Light-eyed pygmy-tyrant, Atalotriccus pilaris wilcoxi, p. 532
Foreneck not. white streaked swith’ dankswenay. s.cscee cece oct nc cle. 80
Very small; tail very short, slightly more than half as long as wing.. 81
Slightly larger; tail of normal length, three-fourths or more as long as
IVAN Dain reves shies Suet etlsp oni Seed ACER ro: SHES oN TERESA IG corer ei roe 82
Foreneck and breast white to grayish white ; crown black.
Black-capped pygmy-tyrant, Perissotriccus atricapillus, p. 534
Under surface yellow, except for grayish wash on breast.
Yellow-bellied tyrannulet, Microtriccus brunneicapillus
brunneicapillus, p. 582
Lower surface yellow to yellowish white, without definite darker markings
OPM DEEAS t sy Asai cy skckove ear bektes mets tetera KAS ER Re er Tee 83
Lower surface with slight to heavy grayish wash on breast............. 84
Lower surface bright yellow ; crown and back olive-green.
Yellow tyrannulet, Capsiempis flaveola senuflava, p. 542
Lower surface white to yellowish white, above dull grayish green, with
crown darker.
Southern beardless flycatcher, Camptostoma obsoletum, p. 567
304 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
84. Upper surface bright olive-green, with crown only faintly, if at all, grayer
than back ; foreneck and breast only faintly grayish.
Yellow-green tyrannulet, Phylloscartes flavovirens, p. 539
Upper surface somewhat duller olive-green with crown definitely darker
than, .back > breast. distinctly, ‘enayish.<:decsenhysteeiaeebin prortigs we oe 85
85. Crown light greenish gray; mandible flesh color; scutes on lower end of
tarsus roughened.
White-fronted tyrannulet, Acrochordopus zeledoni zseledoni, p. 580
Darker, duller in color above, with crown blacker ; entire bill dark colored;
scutes ion lower end! of tarsus’ smoothi|.shea. 14 ecniekeite eee eee 86
86. Wing coverts and secondaries edged with greenish yellow; back and tail
edgings dull greenish ; breast and abdomen whitish.
Paltry tyrannulet, Tvranniscus vilissimus parvus, p. 575
Wing coverts and secondaries tipped and edged with brownish white to
white; back and wings duller, less greenish; lower breast and abdomen
yellow...... Crested tyrannulet, Phyllomyias griseiceps cristatus, p. 573
SAYORNIS NIGRICANS (Swainson): Black Phoebe, Tiguin de Agua
Tyrannula nigricans Swainson, Phil. Mag., ns., vol. 1, May 1827, p. 367.
(Tableland of México. )
Medium size; in life, appearing black; usually perching on rocks
along streams.
Description —Length 155-170 mm. Adult (sexes alike), head and
neck dull black; rest of body sooty slate to dull slate; wing coverts,
wing feathers, and outer rectrix edged with white (varying from
slight to extensive, according to the subspecies) ; abdomen with more
or less white; axillars and under wing coverts varying from white to
dull gray.
The black phoebe is found along rock-strewn stream beds, mainly
in the upper Tropical and Subtropical zones, but also at lower levels
in areas suited to its needs. While it ranges in the open it is not
conspicuous, as it rests quietly on stones and other low perches in
trees and bushes usually near water. The tilting flight from one rest-
ing place to another is low, near the water or stream bed. When
perched, the tail is twitched and the bird turns the head about, watch-
ing for insects which it captures on the wing or follows to the ground.
The call is a single low note, chip or tsip uttered as the birds rest.
The song is a continued repetition of two low notes uttered together :
pee wee, often with the pair of sounds repeated alternately with rising
and with falling inflection. Occasionally the birds circle in air while
singing.
The nest is a strongly made cup, built with fine bits of dry grass
and other similar material, held in place by a plaster of mud. This
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 305
may now be under the eaves of a building or attached to beams be-
neath a bridge. In its primitive condition it was attached to some
sheltered crevice under cover of a huge stone. Skutch in his account
of this bird in the tropics (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 365-
373) records two or three eggs in a set, sometimes plain white, some-
times white dotted with small reddish spots. Nests are built by the
female, who also incubates and cares for the young. The northern
subspecies S. 1. semiatra, resident from California, southwestern
Utah, and central Texas, southward to northern México, appears sub-
ject to greater annual stresses as its eggs vary in number from three
to six, usually four or five, ina set.
SAYORNIS NIGRICANS AMNICOLA Bangs
Sayornis amnicola Bangs, Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, vol. 3, January 30, 1902,
p. 37. (Boquete, 1220 meters elevation, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Characters —White edgings on wings and outer tail feathers much
reduced, in some nearly absent; less white on abdomen.
A male, taken at Palo Santo, Chiriqui, March 2, 1965, had the iris
very dark brown; thickened edge of the eyelids dull black; tarsus,
toes, and claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
83.5-91.0 (88.0), tail 70.9-79.0 (75.9), culmen from base 15.7-17.6
(17.0), tarsus 17.2-18.8 (18.1) mm.
Females (7 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 77.7-83.5 (80.9),
tail 67.0-73.7 (70.5), culmen from base 16.0-17.6 (16.5), tarsus
16.5-17.6 (17.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally along mountain streams in the upper
Tropical and lower Subtropical zones in western Chiriqui; to 1625
meters above Boquete; Bocas del Toro, on the Rio Changuinola, be-
tween Boca del Rio Risco and Punta Blanca.
While not abundant, this flycatcher is widely distributed in the
more open valleys of the larger foothill and mountain streams in
western Chiriqui. I have seen it especially along the Rio Chiriqui
Viejo from Barriles to Cerro Punta, and in other tributary rivers
westward toward Costa Rica. It was not recorded here by Arcé or
others prior to 1900, so that it seems probable that it has grown in
number, following the clearing of forests which has greatly increased
suitable habitat along the major rivers. On March 2, 1960, Charles
O. Handley, Jr., recorded it on the Rio Changuinola, in Bocas del
Toro, the only record for that province. The locality is within the
foothills.
366 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Along the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, beginning in 1955, I have seen
them regularly at the bridge over the main highway leading west
toward Costa Rica, as well as near the river. At the bridge they
nested underneath, on the timbers that supported the flooring. Later,
below Cerro Punta, at Glen Lewis’ house beside the river, I saw a
nest built beneath the eaves of a small building. At Palo Santo,
phoebes came regularly from the main river to the pond fed by a
small stream near our house. Here in early March they examined
the eaves of the buildings for nest sites. They were noticed also in
this general area at the Rio Colorado farther west.
SAYORNIS NIGRICANS ANGUSTIROSTRIS Berlepsch and
Stolzmann
Sayornis cineracea angustirostris Berlepsch and Stolzmann, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, no. 23, part 2, August 1, 1896, p. 357. (La Merced, Pert.)
Characters —White edging on wings and tail extensive; more
white on abdomen.
A female, collected on the Rio Boquerén, back of Madden Lake,
February 23, 1961, had the iris dark brown; bill, tarsi, and feet black.
Another of this sex at the old Tacarcuna village site, March 12, 1964,
had the iris brown; maxilla black; tip of mandible fuscous, base dull
brownish white ; gape and inside of mouth honey yellow; tarsus, toes,
and claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Colén, Darién and Colombia),
wing 83.0-89.0 (86.5), tail 73.1-78.9 (76.2, average of 9), culmen
from base 17.7—20.0 (18.7), tarsus 18.2-19.5 (18.8) mm.
Females (10 from Colén, Province of Panama, Darién, and
Colombia), wing 78.6-83.6 (80.9), tail 67.6-72.8 (70.1), culmen
from base 16.5-18.9 (17.5), tarsus 16.5-17.8 (17.3) mm.
Resident. Found locally from Cerro Bruja, eastern Province of
Colon, Rio Boquer6n, in the lower Chagres Valley, and Cerro
Chucanti, eastern Panama, east to Cerro Pirre, and the base of Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién.
This bird, more heavily marked with white on wings and tail
than the race of the west, was taken by Goldman on June 9, 1911, on
the Rio Cascajal, on the north base of Cerro Bruja, Colén. On the
Rio Boqueron, Colon, north of the Peluca Hydrographic Station, on
February 23, 1961, I collected a female and on the following day a
male. These are the most western records in the Republic for this
subspecies. On March 15, 1950, we saw two and secured a fully
grown immature on the Quebrada Chucanti, on the south base of this
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 367
mountain ridge. At the old Tacarcuna village site on the upper Rio
Tacarcuna there were several in March 1964, along the rough, open
stream bed. A male was collected here on February 15, 1959, by
B. Feinstein. We secured others March 12 and 14, 1964, two of them
caught in a mist net set across the river. Charles O. Handley, Jr.,
found newly hatched young here January 29, 1959, in a nest at the
base of a cliff, a meter above the water. On March 18, 1912, E. A.
Goldman took a pair on the Rio Seteganti, near Cana.
Stomachs of those that I have examined have held miscellaneous
small insects, among which I have identified small dragonflies, a
small vespoid wasp, ants, a parasitic hymenopteron, fragments of
elaterids, cerambycids, and others, with gerrids and coreids. They
seem to feed rather regularly on dragonflies.
COLONIA COLONUS LEUCONOTA (Lafresnaye): Long-tailed
Tyrant, Maestro
Figure 34
Copurus leuconotus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., vol. 5, November 1842, p. 335.
(Bogota, Colombia. )
Small; mainly black; with two long, slender central feathers pro-
jecting in the tail.
Description—Length to end of normal lateral rectrices 115-
130 mm. Adult male, two central rectrices much elongated; crown
sooty gray centrally, edged narrowly with grayish brown; a continu-
ous band of white on forehead, lores, side of head above eyes, and
across hindneck, encircling the upper part of the head; body mainly
dull black, changing to sooty gray on lower surface; center of
back streaked broadly with light gray to grayish white; rump white ;
abdomen faintly whitish in some; wings and tail brownish _ black.
Adult female, elongated central rectrices shorter than in male;
body plumage somewhat duller colored; crown often grayer; light
streak around head usually grayer on hindneck; center of abdomen
usually whiter.
Juvenile, dull brownish black; grayish on lower breast, abdomen,
and flanks; central rectrices broader, the tips projecting only a few
millimeters.
In male and female the iris is dark brown; bill and feet black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Canal
Zone, eastern Province of Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing
68.1-73.8 (71.4), normal tail 49.8-56.0 (52.0), long central rectrices
368 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
144.0-194.0 (168.8), culmen from base 9.9-11.1 (10.4), tarsus 12/5—
13:7 (13:3), aim:
Females (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, San Blas, and Darién), wing
63.5-69.9 (67.5), normal tail 44.7-52.8 (49.0), elongated central
FicureE 34.—Long-tailed tyrant, maestro, Colonia colonus leuconota, male.
rectrices 112.5-136.5 (113.9), culmen from base 9.6-11.2 (50:3),
tarsus 13.0-14.2 (13.6) mm.
Resident. Found locally, on the Pacific slope from the southern
face of Cerro Azul in eastern Province of Panama east through
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 369
* Darién; on the Caribbean slope throughout, from western Bocas del
Toro to eastern San Blas.
The published records for the Pacific slope for Santa Fé, Veraguas,
and ‘“‘Veragua’’ (Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 146; and
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 14, 1888, pp. 51-52) based on collections
by Arcé, are considered erroneous, as there are no modern records.
The only area where I have found this flycatcher on the Pacific drain-
age west of the Canal Zone is on the head of the Rio Mata Ahogada
on the eastern base of Cerro Gaital, northeast of El Valle, Cocle.
The point is immediately adjacent to the head of the Rio Indio of the
Atlantic drainage, the two streams here being separated by a low open
ridge. It was my impression that the two birds seen were merely
casual intruders from the northern slope, a few hundred meters
distant.
In primitive areas, especially in Darién, these small birds, at-
tractive in their quiet mannerisms, range in heavy forest along the
banks of the larger streams, less often where a tree had fallen, or
where there was a break in the forest canopy from some other cause.
Here they perched alertly on small dead or bare branches, and on the
tops of stubs. More rarely, I had views of them resting on dead
limbs, projecting in the open above the tree crown. In areas of human
settlement they are birds of forest edge, pastures, and clearings ad-
jacent to forest. This is one species that adapts readily to the usual
methods of forest clearing and burning, as this provides open range
with suitable perches in dead trees. The birds rest high or low above
the ground, watching alertly with quickly turning heads for passing
insects. These they capture expertly in short sallies from their lookout
points, with a graceful sweep of the long tail feathers as they turn in
the air.
The note of the males is a sibilant whees whees, or wheet, a sound
of little carrying power. Occasionally these soft calls are repeated
more rapidly in sequence as a low song. In display, males rose a few
meters in air and circled with wings held widely spread as they turned
to come down again on the perch. At rest, the tail was switched
vertically up and down quickly, assisted by up and down movements
of the short lateral rectrices. Though true flycatchers in appearance
and movement, they show few aggressive traits, as two males may
rest quietly, a meter or less apart.
In Darién, Chocéd and Cuna Indian boys called them Luis or
Luisa, in imitation of their low calls. Elsewhere they were known
as Maestro, because of the whiplike switching movements of the long
370 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tail. Eisenmann has noted that they nest throughout the entire year,
as indicated by birds pairing and with young. Males and females,
singly or in company, are seen frequently examining old woodpecker
holes and other cavities in dead stubs, often high above the ground.
On one occasion on March 6, on the Rio Pequeni, back of Madden
Lake, I found a pair feeding young in a hole 8 or 10 meters above
the ground in a stub standing in the open near the house of a Choco
Indian family.
Dr. Pedro Galindo gave me sections of tree trunk with woodpecker
holes collected near Almirante, Bocas del Toro, one on March 27,
the other on June 20, in 1962, in which these flycatchers had built
their nests. In both the lower quarter or more of the cavity was
packed with slender, short filaments of vegetable fiber, mostly dark
in color, as a base to support a deep cup made of finer materials.
According to Meise (Schonwetter, Handb. Ool., pt. 15, 1968, pp. 75,
91) the eggs (in the nominate race, C.c. colonus) in form are some-
what pointed oval, occasionally broader, in color clear white, with very
thin shells. Measurements are 18.0-20.8 x 13.3-14.6 mm.
As a species Colonia colonus ranges widely from southeastern
Honduras through eastern Central America and South America to
northeastern Argentina and southeastern Brazil. The northern sub-
species Jeuconota is the form of Central America, Colombia west of
the Andes, and western Ecuador.
FLUVICOLA PICA PICA (Boddaert): Pied Water-tyrant, Pozera
Muscicapa pica Boddaert, Tabl. Planch. Enlum., 1783, p. 42. (Cayenne. )
Small; under surface white; black and white above; walks with
vibrating tail.
Description.—Length 115-125 mm. Adult (sexes alike), posterior
half of crown, hindneck, center of back, wings, and tail black; a few
small often hidden dark gray plumes at posterior canthus (angle)
of eye; rest of plumage clear white, including rump, upper tail coverts,
spots on distal end of longer secondaries, tip of tail, axillars, and
under wing coverts.
Immature, center of forecrown, with the remainder posterior to a
line through the center of the eyes, hindneck, back, and wings dull
brown; side of upper breast, neck and head clouded lightly with
grayish brown; rest of plumage as in adult.
The iris is dark brown; bill, tarsi, and feet black; inside of mouth
black ; tongue dark neutral gray.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 371
Measurements—Males (4 from Panama), wing 62.0-64.4 (63.4),
tail 47.4-50.6 (48.9), culmen from base 15.0-16.9 (16.0), tarsus
197-21.0°(20:5) mm:
Females (6 from Panama), wing 56.2-61.8 (57.9), tail 41.2-46.2
(42.9), culmen from base 15.1-17.0 (16.1), tarsus 19.2-20.6
(19.5) mm.
Resident. Found locally on the coastal marshes of eastern Province
of Panama from the lower Rio Juan Diaz east for about 35 kilometers
to near the mouth of the Rio Bayano, ranging inland from the shore-
line for 5 kilometers or slightly more.
The first report of this species in Panama was a male (now in the
American Museum of Natural History) collected by E. André,
March 7, 1899 (labeled Tocumé) in the coastal area near the lower
Rio Tocumen. James Chapin and Charles Rogers collected a male and
saw two other birds of this species on the Rio Tapia marshes, east
of Juan Diaz, on August 4, 1923 (specimen in the Princeton Mu-
seum). Arbib and Loetscher (Auk, 1935, p. 326) in 1934 recorded
it from this same area.
In my field studies I have found this attractive small bird especially
common in the marshes adjacent to the Rio La Jagua and the Sabana
de San José, beginning in 1949 when I had the privilege of living
in the old La Jagua Gun Club. In the season of rains when the marsh
area is more extensive they spread inland, but never far from the
coast. Usually they rest in low bushes, or walk about on the ground,
constantly tilting the tail, a movement that with any excitement vi-
brates the whole posterior part of the body, almost as in the migrant
water thrushes (genus Seiurus). In dry season, they range about small
pools and the borders of stream channels. When the marshes are
filled they are much more conspicuous and, as stated, more widely
distributed. During the various periods that I have lived in their
haunts I found them tame, often coming near while I bathed at a
tank where a windmill supplied water for cattle. Though seen on
many occasions I never heard them call. Grown young were found
among the adults in March and early April. The bird was known
locally as Pozera, from its usual occurrence around waterholes.
This occurrence of the species in a limited area on the northern
shores of the Bahia de Panama marks an isolated colony of a bird
that ranges widely in tropical marshes of northern and eastern South
America, the nearest known being along the Rio Sint in northwestern
Colombia, 400 kilometers distant. In spite of this isolation the birds
in Panama are like those of Colombia in color and size. While they
372 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
are listed here under a trinomial heading, in line with current usage
for those found from Colombia to the Guianas, their union as a
species with Fluvicola albiventer of farther south in South America
should have careful study in areas where the two approach. In the
considerable series that I have examined albiventer has differed
consistently in lack of white on the dorsal surface, except on the
head and in a restricted area on the rump, wings, and tail tip.
Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1937, pp. 227-228) in Trinidad wrote
that nests “may be found at almost any season, but particularly during
the rains from June to October. The nest is placed without conceal-
ment towards the end of a bough of a small bush or tree at a height
which may vary from a few inches over the ground or water (usually
the latter) to thirty feet. In shape it is a vertically-placed oval with
entrance-hole (at one side near the top) sometimes screened by a
projecting porch. Materials used are dried grass and weed stems,
plant-down and leaves, the egg chamber being lined with feathers,
generally white ones. The eggs number two or three. They are
biconical, the shell being fairly thick and of a pure glossless white,
with infrequent scattered markings evenly distributed in the form
of speckles, spots, and an occasional small blotch. Eight average
17.2X 13.3 mm.” Hellebrekers (Zool. Med. Rijksm. Nat. Hist.
Leiden, vol. 24, 1942, p. 256) who lists 16 sets of 2 eggs and 5 of
3 in the Penard collection from Surinam describes them as “oval,
sometimes spherical, nearly glossless . . . white. Spots: marked at
the large end with small, but also larger spots of red-brown.”
PYROCEPHALUS RUBINUS (Boddaert): Vermilion Flycatcher,
Cardenalito
Muscicapa rubinus Boddaert, Tabl. Planch. Enlum., 1783, p. 42. (Tefé, Brazil.)
Rather small; male, crown, and under surface bright red; female,
breast and foreneck white, lightly streaked with gray, abdomen pale
red in some races.
Description.—Length, 126-132 mm. Adult male, crown and under
surface bright red, in some varying to orange; side of head, including
lores dusky to grayish brown; back, rump, scapulars, and wing
coverts grayish brown; upper tail coverts, tail, primaries, and secon-
daries dusky ; wing coverts and secondaries edged with grayish white ;
tail with outermost rectrix edged, and all rectrices tipped narrowly,
with grayish white.
Adult female, upper surface grayish brown; upper tail coverts,
wings and tail dark grayish brown to dusky; forehead dull white;
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 373
lores dusky ; crown streaked indistinctly with dusky; wing coverts,
secondaries, and outer web of outermost rectrix edged with dull
white; foreneck, breast, and sides white, streaked indistinctly with
grayish brown; flanks, abdomen, and under tail coverts, in the north-
ern race salmon pink to pinkish buff, in the southern subspecies red.
Measurements.—Size throughout the range is variable. Males,
wing 54-82, tail 49-62 mm; females, wing 55-72, tail 47-59 mm,
varying according to the subspecies.
Accidental. One record.
Dr. Eugene Eisenmann (Auk, 1948, p. 606) on August 19, 1947,
at Playa Coronado, about 7 kilometers west of Chame, western
Province of Panama, found a full-plumaged male resting on a wire
fence in an open area among beach cottages. He had it under close
observation for the afternoon, and it then disappeared. He was not
able to collect the bird, but secured “a tiny but recognizable image on
Simm. Kodachrome motion picture film.”
The species ranges in the north from southwestern California,
southwestern Utah and central Texas through México to Nicaragua ;
and in South America from northern Colombia and Venezuela to
northern Chile and central Argentina, with an outlier on the Galapa-
gos Islands. In this range seven or more geographic races are recog-
nized, varying somewhat in size and appreciably in depth of color.
The record in Panama evidently is that of a stray individual with no
clue as to its origin.
MUSCIVORA FORFICATA (Gmelin): Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,
Papamoscas Tijerillo
Muscicapa forficata Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 931. (México.)
Medium size; with slender forked tail, longer than body; gray-
white, with reddish sides.
Description—Length 260-340 mm. Two outer rectrices nearly
equal in length; tenth (outermost) primary narrowed at the tip;
two outer rectrices extensively white or pink, with black tip. Adult
male, tip of outer primary narrowed for 20 to 25 mm; crown, side of
head, and hindneck pale gray; center of crown with feathers basally
white and a small concealed spot of orange-red; back and scapulars
gray, washed with pink; rump brownish gray ; upper tail coverts and
wings dull black; inner primaries and secondaries edged with dull
white ; outermost lesser coverts pinkish red, others gray; middle and
greater coverts dull black, edged with gray to grayish white; inner
lores dusky ; bare edge of eyelids black, bordered with a narrow line
374 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of pale gray feathers; malar region, chin, and throat white; side of
neck and breast pale gray ; sides, flanks, tibiae, and under tail coverts
salmon-red ; axillars and pre-axillars bright pinkish red; under wing
coverts and edge of wing pink; inner margins of wing feathers
white to grayish white; central tail feathers black, tipped narrowly
with white ; longer feathers basally pink, paler distally, tipped widely
with white.
Female, tip of outer primary narrowed for 10 to 15 mm; feathers
of crown white basally, but red spot found in male usually absent,
when present small and usually pale; otherwise like male.
Measurements——Males (10 from Texas, Virginia, and Bocas del
Toro), wing 120.1-127.0 (123.3), tail 214.0-248.0 (225.7), culmen
from base 19.1-22.2 (20.8), tarsus 18.6-20.0 (19.2) mm.
Females (10 from Texas, Louisiana, Nevada, Veracruz, and
Coclé), wing 112.8-119.4 (116.1), tail 148.0-173.0 (160.7), culmen
from base 19.2-21.4 (20.3), tarsus 18.3-19.8 (19.1) mm.
Migrant from the north. Found locally in western Panama; in
migration through Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro, to wintering grounds
in the Azuero Peninsula and Coclé.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was first recorded in the Republic
by W. W. Brown, Jr. (see Bangs, Auk, 1901, p. 363), who collected
five in November and December 1900 near Divala. Rudolfo Hinds
saw several near Almirante in October 1961 and collected a male on
October 31. There are two sight records for the eastern side of the
Azuero Peninsula, one near Oct, Herrera, about January 20, 1950,
by T. E. White (during search for vertebrate fossils with C. L. Gazin
of the U.S. National Museum) and another December 29, 1966, in
Los Santos by Horace Loftin and G. V. N. Powell. In January
1963, I found a number on what was evidently their wintering
grounds in the areas of open savanna bordered by thorn scrub between
Aguadulce, Coclé, and the sea. On January 17, I collected two
females here. At sundown, 15 or more in straggling company flew
across an open salina to roost in mangroves bordering a tidal channel.
The two collected had eaten green drupes 10 mm or so long, on
which other flycatchers (elaineas) were feeding. Others were seen
in this area (known locally as Gallo) on January 25. During archeo-
logical investigations in central Coclé, Richard Cooke saw one at the
salinas near Aguadulce, and others in February and March 1970
(including four together ) near El Cafio.
The species is a summer resident from southeastern Colorado and
Nebraska south through eastern New Mexico, western Arkansas and
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 375
western Louisiana to southern Texas, northern Nuevo Leon, and
northern Tamaulipas. It is known in winter from southern México
(and sparingly in southern Florida) south to western Panama.
MUSCIVORA TYRANNUS MONACHUS (Hartlaub): Fork-tailed
Flycatcher, Tijereta Sabanera
Figure 35
Tyrannus (Milvulus) monachus Hartlaub, Rev. Zool., vol. 7, June 1844, p. 214.
(Guatemala).
Medium size; with very long, slender tail; crown and tail black.
Description.—Length 240-360 mm. Outer rectrix decidedly longer
than the one adjacent. Adult male, three outer primaries incised at
tip; crown, hindneck, and sides of head black; a large, concealed
yellow area bordered with white in center of crown; back and scapu-
lars light gray, becoming darker on the upper rump; lower rump and
upper tail coverts dusky to black; wings dark gray, with the coverts
and flight feathers edged in varying amount with white to light gray ;
tail black, the outer rectrix white on the narrow outer web for half
or less of length ; under surface, including malar region, axillars, and
under wing coverts (except the outermost) pure white; posterior
outer under wing coverts gray.
Adult female, tips of outer primaries not incised; coloration as in
male, but tail shorter.
Juvenile, head grayish to sooty brown; back somewhat brownish
gray ; rump, and wing coverts, in part, edged with buff to cinnamon-
buff; outer rectrix edged with white as in adult; others tipped and
edged lightly with cinnamon to cinnamon-rufous.
In two adult females, taken January 11 and March 9, 1962, the
iris was dark reddish brown; bill, tarsus, toes, and claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Los Santos, Herrera,
and Province of Panama), wing 102.4-107.2 (103.5), tail 232.0-
284.0 (254.0), culmen from base 17.1-18.3 (17.8), tarsus 17.0-17.8
(17.3) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Herrera, Coclé, Panama, and Costa
Rica), wing 94.0-100.8 (95.9), tail 137.0-195.0 (173.0), culmen from
base 17.1-18.3 (17.6), tarsus 17.0-17.5 (17.2) mm.
Found throughout the year. Common locally on the savannas and
other open areas of the Pacific slope, from western Chiriqui (where
it is encountered from the coastal lowlands to the open Llanos del
Volcan, to 1460 meters on the western base of Volcan Bart), east
through southern Veraguas, the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula,
376 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Coclé, the southern Canal Zone, and both sectors of the Province
of Panama, to the lower Rio Bayano (EI Llano) ; recorded on the
Caribbean side in the northern Canal Zone as migrants or wanderers ;
from late August to the middle of September; sight records for
Puerto Obaldia, eastern Comarca de San Blas, and Isla Coiba.
On the Pacific slope as a whole these birds are present throughout
the year, with seasonal variation in occurrence and abundance. Mat-
ing display may be noted in January; nesting is recorded from
February to May and June. The period may vary locally according
to the season. Near the La Jagua Gun Club east of the Rio Pacora,
Province of Panama, on February 22, 1957, I noted two occupied
nests and collected one with three eggs in which incubation had begun.
Two years later on April 11, 1959, in this same area the birds were
present but there was no sign of nesting activity as there had been
no rain and the savannas were very dry. Eisenmann and J. R. Karr
recorded two nests, with two and three eggs respectively, on March
12, 1969, at the old La Joya airstrip in this same area. A male col-
lected in northern Herrera March 18, 1948, was in breeding condition.
West of Penonomé, Coclé, on April 6, 1954, Mrs. Gladys Barnard
watched a nest being built with both male and female bringing straws
for construction. Eisenmann and the Barnards in this area on June
20, 1953, found many fledglings still showing down. Near Sona,
Veraguas, on May 18 and 22, 1953, I noted immature individuals
recently on the wing.
The nests that I have examined have been shallow cups of plant
fibers padded with fluffy down. Leaves may be woven into the outer
edge. In location they have ranged from less than a meter to 10 meters
from the ground. At one collected near the La Jagua Gun Club,
Panama, February 22 , 1957, elevated about 3 meters, when I stood
on the jeep hood directly underneath, the brooding female did not
leave her post until I began to pull the branch with the nest toward
me. The three eggs are oval in form, somewhat glossy white, spotted
irregularly with small markings of chocolate and lilac, mainly in a
circlet on the large end, but with a few scattered at random elsewhere.
They measure 21.2 x 16.2, 21.6X 16.2 and 21.9 16.5 mm.
Males in mating display are an attractive sight as they hover or
fly slowly with tail widely spread and quickly fluttering wings. Eisen-
mann described a display seen February 14, 1960, near Tocumen in
which two males perched in the top of a low bush, while a third bird,
possibly a female, rested below. The two above fanned their tails and
raised them almost vertically, while fluttering the wings and calling.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE Bui.
Figure 35.—Fork-tailed
flycatcher, tijereta sabanera,
Muscivora tyrannus mona-
chus, male.
378 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The calls are rapid chipping notes, sometimes accompanied by a
metallic rattle that possibly may be made by the incised tips of the
outer primaries.
These flycatchers, like their kingbird relatives, are aggressive,
usually toward birds on the wing, driving at hawks or turkey vultures
that chance to pass. Once I saw one pursuing a caracara that was
chasing an ani. While they are active flycatchers they also feed ex-
tensively on berries. Occasionally in an area of forest they may even
come to the upper twigs of a berry tree that rises into the tree crown.
While Fork-tailed Flycatchers are present in the savanna area
throughout the year their numbers may vary widely. The subspecies
monachus ranges north through Central America to Veracruz and
the Yucatan Peninsula. In México it is reported that the birds de-
crease appreciably in number at the end of July. And there is indica-
tion of movement among them in Panama in late August and Sep-
tember, apparently through migrants from the north, though this
needs verification by records through banding whenever these may be
available. Thus in the northern Canal Zone Eisenmann’s notes cite
observations by J. E. Ambrose of numbers seen at Coco Solo from
August 24 to September 7, 1957. Eisenmann also on August 29, 1958,
noted 18 with 6 Eastern Kingbirds and 2 Gray Kingbirds resting
on a lawn at Fort Sherman, all giving the impression of passage
migrants.
Locally, these birds are sometimes called Tijereta del Llano, or
fancifully, Golondrinas (swallows).
On the Pacific slope they appear at times to occupy communal
roosts. Thus on March 18, 1955, at David, Chiriqui, toward sunset,
I recorded them singly or half a dozen together in straggling company
flying east past the grounds of the Hotel Internacional, 50 to 100
meters in the air, evidently toward some roost. I counted 200, and
then estimated that at least 500 passed during half an hour until the
sun was below the horizon. On January 23, 1963, in the open
savannas near the sea at Gago, Coclé Province, south of Rio Grande
on the highway, I recorded another large roost of these birds. As I
drove into this area at dawn about 200 came out of a small grove of
dense-leaved trees. They swirled past, twisting and turning in the
early morning breeze, so that occasionally the air seemed filled with
them.
At the close of his interesting account of vocalization in kingbirds,
and their allies, W. John Smith (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club, no. 6, 1966,
pp. 234-241) groups the 13 species that he studied in 2 subgenera,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 379
Tyrannus for the true kingbirds, and Muscivora for the Scissor-
tailed and Fork-tailed Flycatchers. By including the latter under the
genus Tyrannus, the usual species name tyrannus, from Muscicapa
tyrannus Linnaeus, 1766, is preoccupied by Lanius tyrannus Linnaeus,
1758 for the common kingbird. For the Fork-tailed Flycatcher, there-
fore, he uses the next available name Tyrannus savana Vieillot,
described in 1807. While his comment that the two long-tailed fly-
catchers obviously are related to the true kingbirds is pertinent, his
statement that (p. 234) “their special characteristics are proximate
adaptations for fitting a kingbird to life in the more open savannahs,”
with their allocation under the same genus name is questioned. In
brief, the two species currently placed in the genus Muscivora differ
distinctly externally in the long tail and much more slender body.
Internally the skeleton reflects this less robust form, especially in the
skull, sternum, and pelvis. Among other modifications, the pygostyle
has lateral processes for the muscle attachments that control the ex-
tended tail. There are slight but definite differences elsewhere.
The nominate subspecies, Muscivora tyrannus tyrannus which
nests from south-central Argentina northward to southern Bolivia,
central Paraguay, and southern Brazil, migrates northward regularly
in the southern winter to the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad,
and the southern Lesser Antilles. As it is of accidental occurrence
casually elsewhere (as far as eastern United States) it may be found
as a straggler in Panama. It is easily identified in the hand by the
much darker gray of the back, compared to the native M. ¢. monachus.
TYRANNUS TYRANNUS (Linnaeus): Eastern Kingbird, Pitirre
Nortefno
Lanius Tyrannus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, 1758, p. 94. (South
Carolina. )
Medium size; blackish gray, with white under surface and white
tipped tail.
Description —Length 185-205 mm. Adult male, tips of eighth
and ninth primaries definitely narrowed at tip, the seventh only
slightly sinuated toward the end; crown and sides of head black;
center of crown with a large, concealed orange-red patch, the adjacent
feathers white at base; hindneck to rump, including scapulars,
blackish slate to slate color, with the rump edged slightly with white ;
upper tail coverts black edged with white; tail black, with the outer
web of the outer rectrix edged narrowly with white, and all tipped
rather broadly with white; wings dusky, with the coverts and secon-
380 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
daries edged narrowly with white or pale gray; lower foreneck and
upper breast pale gray; rest of under surface, including the malar
region, white; axillars and anterior under wing coverts plain gray ;
edge of wing and posterior under coverts white.
Female, similar, but with tips of ninth and tenth primaries only
slightly narrowed, and orange-red crown patch smaller.
Immature, outer primaries not narrowed at tip; slightly brownish
above, with white edgings on wings and upper tail coverts reduced
or absent ; gray of breast duller.
Measurements.—Males (10, May, June, eastern United States,
South Carolina to New York), wing 115.1-122.5 (117.9), tail 75.3-
89.7 (81.3), culmen from base 19.0-21.5 (20.5), tarsus 18.0-20.0
(18.7) mm.
Females (10, May, June, eastern South Carolina to Nova Scotia),
wing 111.0-116.5 (113.4), tail 76.0-84.6 (80.0), culmen from base
18.0-21.5 (19.8), tarsus 17.9-19.1 (18.5) mm.
Abundant in migration. Present during the northern seasons of
fall and spring, mainly in the lowlands on both Pacific and Caribbean
slopes. It is believed that a few remain through the winter months.
The earliest record in the southward flight in fall is that of Arbib
and Loetscher (Auk, 1935, p. 326) of the two seen at the Rio Tapia,
east of Panama City, on August 29, 1934. A week later, in early
September they become common, and continue in abundance through
October into November. The main flight ends in early November,
though some may be found later. Eisenmann, who furnished much
of the fall data on this species recorded six or eight on November 26,
1962, at Santo Tomas Hospital, in Panama City, where they were
feeding on the fruit of palms. Loftin that same season saw a few near
Curundu, Canal Zone, in late November, and one at France Field,
Canal Zone, the following year on November 30. T. Imhof recorded
a few between Pacora and Chepo from December 3 to 8, 1942. It
is possible that these later records were of wintering individuals,
though there have been no reports in January or February.
The flight northward in spring begins in early March and continues
through April and the first ten days of May. As an early record, we
saw three small flocks at El Uracillo, northern Coclé, near the upper
Rio Indio on March 4, 1952. Soon after the middle of March they
become common, with the main flight passing in April. It is usual
then to see 50 to 100 in a flock. Ridgely has reported that above
Gamboa on April 15, 1968, for a period of 15 minutes he watched
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 381
thousands flying over the Rio Chagres. Eisenmann from April 8 to
21, 1969, found this the most conspicuous passeriform. They remain
common through the first 10 days in May. The latest record is a
male taken by Austin Smith, May 23, 1927, at Zegla, on the Rio
Teribe, Bocas del Toro, a specimen in the Havemeyer collection at
Yale.
The habits of this species in its migrations may be a surprise to
naturalists familiar with it in the North. Here in Panama they are
seen regularly in flocks that fly in close formation like Cedar Wax-
wings. In the steady passage of flocks that I have seen in early
mornings following down the Rio Jaqué in Darién they may change
to travel in straggling lines like those of migrating robins. When
these groups rest, usually they perch closely together. In early morn-
ing, birds that may be tired from a night flight often drop down on
lawns in the towns, or on open areas elsewhere. My own first sight of
them in Panama was on October 10, 1940, when a small group rested
in the short grass at the old Washington Hotel in Cristobal. While
they may be seen feeding as usual on flying insects, regularly flocks
visit the clusters of fruit on royal palms or gather in fig or berry-
bearing trees. When single birds are seen occasionally, they perch
partly hidden among leaves, instead of on the commanding lookout
points that they use in the North. At this season also they are silent,
as in many observations I have not heard one call. Once only has a
kingbird displayed a habit normal in the North when one pursued a
passing osprey which twisted and turned to avoid the attack.
Their flights regularly cross the Gulf of Panama.
Present records include islas San José, Rey, Saboga, Chapera,
Viveros, Taboga, Taboguilla, and Urava. They have been recorded
also in the mountains of eastern Darién at Cana on Cerro Pirre.
Morton (Auk, 1971, pp. 925-926), in observations in the Canal
Zone in 1965-1966 and 1970, found kingbirds generally more plenti-
ful as migrants during the northward flight. In the fall migration
in September he recorded flocks moving southward at such high
elevations that they could be identified only through binoculars. He
believed that this seasonal difference in their migratory movement
was regulated by the availability of a food supply. In spring, in the
main they were fruit eaters, principally of the berries of the common
mangabé, Didimopanax morototoni, available in abundance at that
season. In fall, when berries were less available, they depended more
on insects, secured through greater effort.
382 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
TYRANNUS DOMINICENSIS DOMINICENSIS (Gmelin): Gray
Kingbird, Pitirre Gris
Lanius tyrannus B. dominicensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 1, 1788, p. 302.
( Hispaniola. )
Medium size: similar in form to the Eastern Kingbird, but gray
above, and white underneath.
Description —Length 200-215 mm. Adult male, seventh to tenth
primaries (the four outermost) narrowed at the tip; the sixth
somewhat less attenuated, the fifth becoming slender at the end but
with inner web not incised; tail deeply notched at the end; upper sur-
face gray, with narrow dusky shaft lines on the crown; a large crown
spot, orange to orange-red centrally, pure white at the sides and rear,
concealed by the gray tips of the feathers; upper tail coverts dusky-
gray edged narrowly with rusty brown; tail dusky, the external
rectrix edged narrowly, and all tipped, with white; wings grayish
brown, lesser and middle coverts edged with grayish white, the
secondaries and inner primaries edged with white; anterior lores like
crown ; a spot in front of eye, narrow circlet around eye, and auricular
region dusky-black; malar region, throat, lower breast, abdomen,
flanks, and under tail coverts pure white; upper breast and lower
foreneck pale gray, becoming darker on the adjacent sides; axillars
and under wing coverts yellowish white; inner webs of wing feathers
edged with dull white.
Adult female, with tips of outer primaries broader; orange crown
spot smaller ; otherwise like male.
Immature, in first fall, like adults, but with tips of outer primaries
not narrowed or incised; occasionally with lower rump, upper tail
coverts, and wing coverts edged with cinnamon, retained from the
juvenile plumage.
Measurements——Males (10 from Florida), wing 117.0-121.8
(119.7), tail 88.6-99.5 (91.6), culmen from base 28.2-30.3 (29.2),
tarsus 18.1—-19.4 (18.8) mm.
Females (10 from Florida), wing 114.1-118.1 (116.2), tail 80.4—
88.9 (85.6), culmen from base 28.0-30.4 (29.1), tarsus 18.2-19.8
(18.8) mm.
Migrant, and winter resident. Not abundant. Recorded in the
lowlands from late August to April.
This nominate race of the species breeds from Florida, rarely
coastal South Carolina, and the Bahamas through the Greater Antilles.
It is migrant in the winter season from the United States and the
Bahama Islands, and apparently in part at least from Cuba and
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 383
Jamaica. The principal information regarding it in Panama is from
records by Eugene Eisenmann. His earliest dates of arrival are
August 28, 1958, at Galeta Point, and August 29, 1954, at Fort
Sherman. By the end of September they are more common and re-
main in small numbers through the winter. While during migration
they may be found in small flocks, in the winter months they are seen
usually as scattered individuals. Horace Loftin recorded them on
November 23, 1962, along the highway from Penonomé, Coclé, to
Chitré, Herrera. In January and February I have recorded single
birds occasionally at Panama Vieja, and at Ancon, Canal Zone.
I collected a female at Monagrillo, Herrera, February 25, 1948.
Wedel secured several during his work at Permé and Puerto Obaldia,
San Blas. The northward migration seems to begin in March.
Eisenmann noted small migrant flocks at the old La Joya airfield
east of Pacora, Panama, March 12, 1969. He has records of others
from J. E. Ambrose, at Fort Davis, Canal Zone, April 24 and 27,
1961. Mrs. Sturgis (Field Book Birds Panama Canal Zone, 1928,
p. 330) saw one on Sosa Hill, Canal Zone, April 11, 1926.
While they are seen regularly capturing insects on the wing, they
also feed extensively on the fruit of royal palm, fig, and other trees.
TYRANNUS MELANCHOLICUS Vieillot: Tropical Kingbird,
Pitirre Tropical
Ficure 36
Medium size ; white to gray throat, yellow breast and abdomen ; tail
long and deeply notched at the end.
Description —Length 195-215 mm. Adult male, five outer pri-
maries with tips distinctly incised, the sixth somewhat narrowed at
distal end. Crown and hindneck rather light gray; a large concealed
central reddish-orange crown patch, underlaid posteriorly and at
sides with light yellow and white; back, scapulars, and rump grayish
olive-green; upper tail coverts dark olive, usually tipped narrowly
with grayish olive-green ; tail dusky, tipped and edged narrowly with
dull white; wings dusky grayish brown; lesser and middle wing
coverts edged with gray; greater coverts and secondaries edged with
grayish white; lores gray, becoming dusky in front of eye; a dull
dusky line across auricular area; chin and throat white to grayish
white ; upper breast light yellowish olive; lower breast and abdomen
yellow ; flanks and under tail coverts light yellow; axillars and under
wing coverts yellowish white; inner webs of wing feathers grayish
white.
384 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Adult female, tips of five outermost primaries only slightly incised,
the sixth only slightly narrowed at end; color pattern as in male.
Juvenile (both sexes), outer primary in some individuals (but
not in all) very slightly narrowed at tip; in first plumage, wing coverts,
including primary coverts, lower rump, upper tail coverts, and tail
edged with cinnamon-buff.
Figure 36.—Tropical kingbird, pitirre tropical, Tyrannus melancholicus
chloronotus.
This is the species of the flycatcher family most often seen, espe-
cially throughout the lowlands outside forested areas. In open
country they are constantly in sight on wires and fences along the
roadways, at the borders of fields and pastures, and regularly around
houses. In wilder sections they are found wherever there are openings
or open forest borders. They appear in lookout trees back of the
beaches, and are found on all but the very smallest of the many off-
shore islands.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 385
The resident birds are of a single, widely distributed subspecies
that ranges from southern México south through Central America
to Colombia, northern Venezuela, Trinidad, and Curacao. The
nominate race, which breeds from southern Colombia and southern
Venezuela southward, is known in Panama at present from a single
locality in southeastern Darién.
TYRANNUS MELANCHOLICUS MELANCHOLICUS Vieillot
Tyrannus melancholicus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd., vol. 35,
December 1819, p. 84. ( Paraguay.)
Characters——Darker gray on the head and hindneck; back dark
gray with little or no greenish cast; chin and throat grayish white ;
lower foreneck, upper breast, and adjacent sides dark gray with
little or no wash of yellowish green; under surface darker, deeper
yellow.
Measurements—Males (10 from western Colombia, extreme
southern Venezuela, and Paraguay), wing 112.4-117.2 (115.0), tail
90.6-99.2 (93.2), culmen from base 23.2-27.1 (24.9), tarsus 18.5-
19.5 (19.1) mm.
Females (10 from western and southeastern Colombia, extreme
southern Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Uruguay), wing 106.5—
116.4 (110.9), tail 87.0-90.7 (88.7), culmen from base 22.2-25.8
(24.1), tarsus 18.1-18.8 (18.3) mm.
Status uncertain. Birds of the Pacific coast in extreme eastern
Darién appear to be intermediate with chloronotus, but in part show
the darker coloration of the nominate form.
In the coastal area at Jaqué, Darién, near the mouth of the Rio
Jaqué, on March 24, 1946, I collected a mated pair of this species in
which the male agrees fully with typical melancholicus. They were in
breeding condition, and were preparing to nest. The female is dark
on the head, hindneck, and back but on the ventral surface resembles
chloronotus, except that the yellow is darker, as in melancholicus.
A third female, collected above Jaqué at El Brazo, on the Rio Jaqué,
about 5 kilometers above its mouth, agrees also with melancholicus.
On the basis of these three specimens the population here appears
intermediate, but nearer melancholicus.
In further work in this area in 1947 I noted occasional kingbirds
along the Rio Jaqué from its mouth inland to the point where it is
joined by the Rio Imamadé, but had no opportunity to secure other
specimens.
386 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
TYRANNUS MELANCHOLICUS CHLORONOTUS Berlepsch
Tyrannus chloronotus Berlepsch, Ornis, vol. 14, February 1907, p. 474. (Temax,
Yucatan. )
Characters.—Lighter gray on the head and hindneck ; more greenish
gray on back, rump, and scapulars; throat somewhat whiter; upper
breast brighter, more yellowish olive-green.
A male taken February 4, 1963, on Isla Parida, Golfo de Chiriqui,
had the iris mouse brown; bill and claws black; tarsus and toes
fuscous-black. In another, at the Candelaria Hydrographic Station
on the Rio Pequeni above Madden Lake, collected March 9, 1961,
the iris was dark mouse brown; bill black; tarsus, toes, and claws
black, with the edges of the tarsal scutes neutral gray. Two females,
at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, January 30, 1966, had the iris dark
mouse brown; bill black; tarsus and toes fuscous-brown; claws
black.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, to Darién and San
Blas), wing 109.5-115.6 (112.9), tail 89.0-98.0 (93.2), culmen from
base 22.8-26.0 (24.3), tarsus 18.1-19.5 (18.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui to Darién and San Blas), wing 108.0-
112.4 (109.6), tail 86.3-92.8 (90.0), culmen from base 22.9-26.3
(24.5), tarsus 18.0-19.1 (18.6) mm.
Resident. Common throughout in open country in the lowlands
on both slopes; to 1890 meters on the western side of Volcan Baru.
Recorded widely through the Archipiélago de las Perlas ; Taboga, and
adjacent islets; Cébaco and Gobernadora, in Golfo de Montijo; Isla
Coiba, and Isla Coibita; Canal de Afuera, Isla Parida, in Golfo de
Chiriqui ; Isla Escudo de Veraguas.
While they are not known to be migratory, these flycatchers appear
to move readily over expanses of the sea. They are distributed
throughout the Archipiélago de las Perlas, even on small, rocky islets,
wherever there are scattered trees of sufficient size to serve for look-
out perches, coupled with sufficient elevation above sea level. to
afford reasonable shelter against gale force winds. In travel along
the International Highway from Panama City westward this is the
bird most commonly seen, noted constantly on elevated wires, trees,
or fences. It ranges regularly also along the open shores of larger
streams and the borders of coastal swamps. In heavily forested areas
it does not enter, but appears in any lowland clearing, even though
this may be distant from other suitable haunts. With increased settle-
ment and clearing of highland forests it appears to have moved up-
ward in the mountains of western Chiriqui. Bangs (Proc. New
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 387
England Zodl. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 40) reported that W. W. Brown,
Jr., collected it only at 600 meters elevation below Boquete. Blake
(Fieldiana : Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 536) listed it at about 1600 meters
above this point in collections made by Monniche between 30 and 40
years later. They appear regularly in suburban areas in towns and
about country houses, where the projecting spikes of royal palms
and telephone wires are favored lookout points.
On Isla Coiba I found them common on dead limbs and other
prominent perches in the low brush back of the beaches, and also in
the extensive pastures behind the convict camps. Here it was one
of the few bird species seen regularly in this comparatively new
open habitat made by clearing large areas of forest.
In a survey of the birdlife on Isla San José in the Perlas group in
early 1944 I found this kingbird in small numbers mainly along the
beaches and casually elsewhere. In that year there was extensive
clearing for roadways over the island. In a second visit in 1946 I
noted a slight increase in abundance, apparently due to the more open
range available.
These birds, with long, pointed wings are accomplished aerialists,
so that it is a pleasure to watch when they are engaged in active feed-
ing on passing insects. From a commanding perch the bird may rise
directly upward for a meter or so to a much greater distance, seize
some insect and then drop vertically back to its original resting
place with marvelous precision and a minimum of wing movement
to control the rise and descent. With agile prey, it moves in swift
pursuit following the twisting, turning course of the insect in its
attempt to escape. Or the bird may pitch forward in a tight, rolling
loop following some unusually active prey. Often they circle through
swarming termites, or clouds of gnats, sometimes high above the
ground. They come regularly also with other birds to the ripened
berries of feeding trees.
The nesting season begins in January and continues through June,
or later. Eisenmann recorded three full grown young being fed at
Fort San Lorenzo on August 28, 1958. In an attractive early season
display males at sunrise may spiral up high in the air and then, with
many twists and turns, fly across pastures or other open lands until
they are mere specks in the distance, coming finally to rest in some
tall dead tree. In another display I have seen a pair rise with rapidly
fluttering wings high in air and then descend rapidly with one bird
directly above the other but not quite in contact.
The voice is a high-pitched repetition of a twittering call, without
388 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
great carrying power, that to me is a pleasing sound. At sunrise the
males may sing for several minutes in repetition of these notes.
While often flying out toward passing hawks, tropical kingbirds in
the main are not aggressive toward smaller birds except when the
latter chance to pass too near the nests.
Skutch (Proc. Linn. Soc. New York, nos. 63-65, 1954, p. 26)
records that the nest is built by the female alone, with the male merely
a spectator. It is a broad, shallow, open cup made of plant material,
placed from 2 to 5 meters above the ground, rarely higher, in a bush
or tree standing in the open. The walls may be so thin that the out-
lines of the eggs are seen from below. Often it is untidy with bits of
the material dangling loosely. The eggs, two or three in number, are
“whitish or pale buff, more or less heavily blotched with reddish-
brown, pale brown, and pale lilac, the markings most crowded on the
thicker end. At times there are a few fine, black spots.” Size in
twelve varied from 22.2-26.6 x 17.5-19.1 mm. Kreuger (Ool. Rec.,
vol. 42, 1968, pp. 73-74) gives measurements of two eggs collected
in British Honduras as 25.7 x 18.0, and 27.1 17.6 mm. Three taken
by Jewel at Gatun, Canal Zone, March 20, 1912 (Stone, Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 268) measured 25.1 x 17.8,
24.9 x 18.0, and 24.9 x 18.3 mm.
The female incubates alone, with the male resting nearby. While
he may fly out at some intruder, usually small birds are not molested
when they perch nearby. At hatching the young have scanty gray
down. The male assists in feeding them and guards the nest, but
does not cover them.
Only seldom does the kingbird descend to the ground and there it
hops slowly and awkwardly. In bathing they come quickly down to
the surface of a pool, splash the breast in the water, and then rise to a
perch. Here the feathers are fluttered to shake out the water and the
birds preen.
LEGATUS LEUCOPHAIUS (Vieillot): Piratic Flycatcher,
Papamoscas Ladr6én
Rather small; dusky above, with light line over eye; heavily
streaked below.
Description —Length 135-145 mm. Adult (sexes alike), a dull
white line from the forehead back above eye united with a similar
band across the hindneck ; crown sooty brown to nearly black, with a
partly concealed central spot of yellow; back, scapulars, and upper
rump olive to grayish brown, with indistinct brownish edgings ; lower
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 389
rump and upper tail coverts similar, but edged with rusty or cin-
namon ; tail sooty to blackish brown, the feathers edged lightly with
pale to dull cinnamon; wings brownish black, with coverts, secon-
daries, and inner primaries edged with dull white; side of head dusky
black ; malar region and throat white, with a narrow dusky line sepa-
rating them: lower foreneck, breast, sides, flanks, and under tail
coverts white to pale yellow, streaked with dark gray; central abdo-
men white to pale yellow; axillars and under wing coverts pale
yellow; inner webs of primaries and secondaries cinnamon.
Juvenile, grayish brown above, without central crown patch ; super-
ciliary, edgings of wing coverts and of tail cinnamon-rufous; under
surface pale yellow, with few or no streaks.
The species has a wide distribution from southern México through
Central America and South America to northern Argentina and
Brazil. From Costa Rica northward it is migratory. Its status in
Panama as a resident from available data is not wholly clear.
Two races currently are recognized based on difference in size,
the smaller nominate form being found from Nicaragua southward.
The larger L. /. variegatus, the breeding form from southern México
to Guatemala, is migrant after the nesting season to South America.
The two are reported to intergrade through Honduras (Monroe,
Birds of Honduras, 1968, p. 255).
LEGATUS LEUCOPHAIUS LEUCOPHAIUS (Vieillot)
Platyrhynchos leucophaius Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd., vol. 27,
December 1818, p. 11. (Cayenne. )
Characters.——Smaller, more slender in form.
A male, taken at La Jagua, Panama, March 23, 1961, had the iris
dark mouse brown; bill black; tarsus and toes fuscous-black ; claws
black. Another male, at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 9, 1966,
was similar, with the inside of the mouth orange. In a female from
El Potrero, Coclé, March 8, 1962, the iris was dark brown; bill,
tarsus, and toes black.
Measurements.—Males (20, Chiriqui to Darién), wing 79.6-84.2
(81.1), tail 54.4-60.0 (56.4), culmen from base 12.7-14.5 (13.4),
tarsus 14.6-16.7 (15.5) mm.
Females (17, Chiriqui to Darién), wing 75.2-81.8 (78.6),
tail 52.7-57.8 (55.7), culmen from base 12.4-14.1 (13.3), tarsus
14.8-16.3 (15.5) mm.
Recorded from January to late October throughout the lowlands ;
from 1280 to 1580 meters in western Chiriqui; 600 meters above El
390 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Valle, Coclé; 550 meters on Cerro Pirre, Darién. Possibly migrant
after the breeding season.
The piratic flycatcher is found locally in the Tropical Zone wherever
there is tree growth, ranging widely through areas of lowland forest,
and also in the savannas. In regions of heavy forest it appears to be
absent, except along the open borders of larger streams. Occasionally
I have found them at the landward edge of mangrove swamps. In
settled sections they may come to trees in suburban areas. They are
seen usually singly or in pairs; more rarely three or four may be
found near one another.
The species is widely distributed from southern Mexico through
Central America and South America to northern Argentina and
Brazil. From the Isthmus of Panama northward it is migratory,
though as yet its movements are not fully known. Eisenmann has no
report for this flycatcher in Panama between late October and
January. My earliest date in specimen records is a male taken at El
Real, Darién, January 11, 1964. Apparently the bird may leave the
Isthmus for part of the year.
The common names for this species refer to their breeding habits,
in which they do not build nests themselves, but appropriate the
domed or pendant homes of some other species. Early accounts of
this habit were published by Chapman (My Tropical Air Castle, 1929,
pp. 111-121). Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 451-464)
has written of it in detail. In brief, in southwestern Costa Rica he
found the Piratic Flycatcher occupying nests of the following species :
White-winged Becard Pachyramphus polychopterus, Gray-capped
Flycatcher Mvytosetetcs granadensis, Vermilion-crowned Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis, Yellow-olive Flycatcher Tolmomytias sulphure-
scens, Eye-ringed Flatbill Rhynchocyclus brevirostris, and Gartered
Trogon Trogon violaceus.
Dr. Frank M. Chapman on Barro Colorado Island found them
taking the nests of the Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Zarhynchus
wagleri. Eisenmann reports them at Tocumen in nests of Cacicus
cela and Pachyramphus cinnamomeus. Neal Smith near Almirante
has seen them at a nest of Cacicus uropygialis. In addition they are
reported to usurp the nests of orioles (/cterus), and even those of the
great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus).
The method used with these species, several of them aggressive and
decidedly larger than the intruder, is persistent annoyance through
attack and attempt to enter the nest. The rightful owners drive the
interlopers away repeatedly but finally give up. If the rightful owners
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 391
have eggs, when finally one of the pirates gains entry, it carries them
to the nest entrance and drops them to the ground. Their usurping
the nest cavity of the much larger trogons in a cavity made in a
paper wasp’s nest seems especially strange.
With a nest thus secured, the two flycatchers as their only contri-
bution carry in small dead leaves to add to the nest lining. Two or
three eggs form the set. These show varying shades from dark to
grayish brown, with blotches or lines of darker brown forming a
wreath around the larger end. Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1937,
p. 231) describe eggs taken on Trinidad as “rather narrow elongated
ovals” and give measurements in two as 23X16 and 22X16 mm.
On May 24, 1961, at La Jagua, Panama, I found a pair that had
taken the nest of the Cayenne Flycatcher Myiozetetes cayanensis.
Their three eggs were heavily incubated so that only two were pre-
served. These are oval in shape, and are heavily clouded over the
entire surface with rather dull, somewhat grayish brown. Irregular
lines and scrawls of a darker brown appear over the surface and form
an indistinct cap at the larger end. They measure 21.3 15.9 and
21.3 15.6 mm. Skutch in Costa Rica, in two sets of three and four
of two, described the color as varying through “‘café-au-lait, unsatu-
rated brown, or smoky brownish gray with a suffusion of darker
brown over most of the surface. About the thick end there is a
wreath of deeper, dirty brown in confluent blotches.’’ Twelve eggs
that he measured averaged 21.7 x 16.3 mm.
Skutch reports that the female alone incubates, but that the young
are fed by both parents. At hatching, they “bear a short, rather dense,
tawny down on much of their dorsal and ventral surfaces.’ They are
fed berries and insects, the latter including dragonflies.
LEGATUS LEUCOPHAIUS VARIEGATUS (Sclater)
Elaenia variegata P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 24, 1856 (January
26, 1857), p. 297, pl. 24. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México. )
Characters.—Larger; usually heavier in body form.
Measurements——Males (10 from San Luis Potosi to Tabasco,
México), wing 88.1-96.5 (91.8), tail 62.6-68.5 (65.2), culmen from
base 13.1-17.7 (14.8), tarsus 16.2-17.9 (16.7) mm.
Females (7 from Veracruz to Chiapas; 1 from Colombia), wing
83.0-90.4 (87.5), tail 60.0-66.3 (63.7), culmen from base 13.1-15.1
(14.3), tarsus 15.4-17.9 (16.5) mm.
Passage migrant; abundance not known. Recorded to date from
392 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Panama Bay, Canal Zone; and Isla Pacheca, Archipiélago de las
Perlas.
Two specimens in the American Museum of Natural History were
collected on Isla Pacheca by Griscom and Crosby on March 9, 1927.
One, marked female, has the wing 89.0 and the tail 63.3 mm, thus
agreeing definitely with the northern race. The second, with sex
marked “male” (wing 87.1, tail 59.0 mm), probably also is a female,
as it agrees in size with that sex. These two are the only records
of the species in the Archipiélago de las Perlas, an indication that
they were in migration. A third, a male, in the collection of the
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, was collected by R. B. Lea,
March 11, 1946, on board the U.S.S. Grafton, when the ship was
anchored in Panama Bay off the Canal Zone.
MYIODYNASTES LUTEIVENTRIS Sclater: Sulphur-bellied
Flycatcher, Papamoscas Cejiblanco
Medium size; like the Streaked Flycatcher, Myiodynastes macu-
latus, but yellowish on lower surface, with a heavy black line on either
side of the throat, the two joined across the chin.
Description —Length 180-205 mm. Adult (sexes alike), forehead
and superciliary grayish white; rest of crown and hindneck brownish
gray to olive, streaked narrowly with black; center of crown with a
concealed patch of yellow; back, scapulars, and upper rump light
olive, the feathers edged with buff, the two colors forming light and
dark streaks; lower rump and upper tail coverts cinnamon-rufous,
streaked with dusky ; tail cinnamon-rufous, with a shaft line of dusky
that is expanded distally; wings dusky; outer webs of middle and
greater coverts and the secondaries edged with white to yellowish
white; lesser coverts edged narrowly with grayish buff; lores and
auriculars dusky; malar area and space below eye dull white to
brownish or yellowish white; chin and sides of throat dusky-black
edged with grayish olive; rest of throat white streaked with dusky;
rest of under surface pale yellow to yellowish white; breast and
sides streaked with black and dusky; axillars and under wing coverts
pale yellow with dusky shaft lines; inner margin of primaries and
secondaries edged with white to pale yellow.
A passage migrant fall and spring to and from wintering grounds
in South America, fairly common. The species as a whole, while
generally similar to the abundant resident Myiodynastes maculatus
difficilis, the Streaked Flycatcher, when clearly seen is easily dis-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 393
tinguished by the dusky chin and yellowish underparts, and also by
the darker, more contrasted head pattern.
There are two slightly different subspecies, as noted beyond, that
may be identified only with specimens in the hand. The following
summary of occurrence (in considerable part from data supplied by
Eugene Eisenmann) relates to the species as a whole. In fall, by
early September, these flycatchers are fairly common. The earliest
actual date of arrival is September 8, 1968, when three were seen
on the Chiva Chiva road by R. S. Ridgely. Other recent reports from
the Canal Zone include September 9, 1962, when one was captured
at Albrook Field by Horace Loftin; September 10, 1968, near
Gamboa, by H. M. Stevenson and L. Marsh; and September 27 and
30, 1968, on Barro Colorado Island by C. F. Leck. Other reports
indicate wide occurrence. George Hicks collected male and female
October 5 and 19, 1964, near Almirante, Bocas del Toro. Loftin
reports others captured there October 11, 12, and 13, 1963; a male
was taken there September 19, 1961, by Tomas Quintero. While most
pass in September and October, some may remain later, as Griscom
(Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72, 1932, p. 350) reported a male taken
by H. von Wedel at Puerto Obaldia, San Blas, November 20, 1930.
The passage northward begins in March. Eisenmann recorded
this species at Panama City, March 12, 1967. A specimen in the
American Museum of Natural History was taken by Benson at Santa
Fe, Veraguas, March 17, 1925. I have personal records at Los Santos
in the Azuero Peninsula for March 15, 1948, on Isla Taboguilla in
the Bay of Panama for March 20, 1952, at Charco del Toro on the
Rio Majé, eastern Province of Panama, March 24, 1950, and on Isla
Cébaco, Golfo de Montijo, March 28, 1962. The birds continue to
move through April.
MYIODYNASTES LUTEIVENTRIS LUTEIVENTRIS Sclater
Myiodynastes luteiventris P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 27, May
1859, p. 42. (Verapaz, Guatemala, and Orizaba, México. )
Characters.—Under surface darker yellow, with the dark streaking
broader and heavier ; light markings on back averaging deeper buff;
cinnamon-rufous of upper tail coverts and tail slightly darker.
Measurements——Males (10 from México, Guatemala, Honduras,
and Costa Rica), wing 112.6-116.6 (114.5), tail 80.0-82.9 (81.7),
culmen from base 22.2-25.2 (23.4), tarsus 18.8-20.4 (19.5) mm.
Females (10 from México, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa
394 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Rica), wing 107.1-111.0 (109.6), tail 75.7-82.2 (78.1), culmen from
base 22.3-25.5 (23.9), tarsus 18.1-19.8 (19.1) mm.
Passage migrant; fairly common, mainly in September-October
and March-April.
The nominate race nests from central Tamaulipas (Victoria),
northeastern Nuevo Leon, and Sinaloa south locally through Central
America to central Costa Rica (Gulf of Nicoya and the central high-
lands), and winters apparently in Pert. While, as stated above, in
the general account of the species, these birds have been recorded
most frequently in the Canal Zone, in their migrations they may
appear anywhere in the Tropical: Zone throughout the Republic.
Definite records for the nominate race, based on specimens, are
as follows: Veraguas—Santa Fé, March 17, 1925; El Villano, Sep-
tember 17, 1924: Caleta Caiman, western end of Isla Cébaco, March
28, 1962. Los Santos—Los Santos, March 15, 1948. Province of
Panama—Charco del Toro, Rio Majé, March 20, 24, 28, 1950 (4
specimens). Darién—Cerro Sapo, Jesucito, April 1922 (3 adults).
Bocas del Toro—Almirante, September 19, 1961. Canal Zone—
Empire Range, October 3, 1955; K-6 Road, September 14, 1955.
Comarca de San Blas—Puerto Obaldia, November 20, 1930.
MYIODYNASTES LUTEIVENTRIS VICINIOR Cory
Miodynastes luteiventris vicinior Cory, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Orn. Ser., vol. 1,
no. 10, August 30, 1916, p. 342. (Yurimaguas, Pert.)
Myiodynastes luteiventris swarthi van Rossem, Condor, vol. 29, no. 2, March 15,
1927, p. 126. (Huachuca Mountains, Arizona. )
Characters —Under surface paler, yellowish white, with the dark
streaks narrower ; light streaking on back lighter, grayer, paler buff;
cinnamon-rufous of upper tail coverts and tail faintly paler.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Arizona, México, and Guate-
mala), wing 111.5-118.2 (115.1), tail 77.0-85.0 (80.6), culmen from
base 23.2-26.0 (24.6), tarsus 19.5-22.3 (20.1) mm.
Females (5 from Arizona and Colima, México), wing 101.5-110.3
(106.5), tail 74.0-81.0 (76.8), culmen from base 21.2-24.9 (23.5),
tarsus 19.4~-20.7 (19.9) mm.
Transient from the north, fall and spring.
Definite records are as follows: Canal Zone (probably Lion Hill
Station on the Panama Railroad), collected in 1862, by McLeannan ;
Fort Clayton, October 13, 1953, F. S. Blanton.
This subspecies nests from southeastern Arizona (Santa Rita and
Chiricahua Mountains) south in northern México to the mountains
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 395
of western Chihuahua and Sonora. It migrates in the winter season
to Bolivia and Pert. While in spring and fall it passes through
Panama, probably during the same periods as M. 1. lutewventris, few
have been recorded. As stated above, individuals of the two sub-
species may be identified only with specimens in hand.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 963, 1937, p. 3) has indicated
that Cory’s name vicinior applies to this form, and so is to be used
instead of swarthi. The type of vicinior, seen at the Field Museum,
is an immature bird, as shown by its lack of the bright-colored crown
patch found in the adult. It is marked on the label as male, but with
a wing measurement of only 105.8 mm it is probably a female, as
may be seen from the dimensions listed above.
MYIODYNASTES MACULATUS (Miiller): Streaked Flycatcher,
Papamoscas Rayado
Ficure 37
Muscicapa maculata P. L. S. Miller, Natursyst., Suppl., 1776, p. 169. (Cayenne. )
Medium size; differs from the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Myyzo-
dynastes luteiventris, in white chin, and whiter lower surface (only
faintly, if at all, yellow) ; dusky forehead; less prominent light line
above eye.
Description—Length 190-205 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck olive to light brown, with the feathers edged narrowly
with cinnamon; a central crown patch of bright yellow, or orange-
yellow, edged more or less with buff to cinnamon, varied in an occa-
sional individual to wholly dark cinnamon-buff ; back, scapulars, and
upper rump grayish brown to olive, the feathers edged more or less
with buff to buffy brown; lower rump and upper tail coverts cin-
namon-rufous, streaked narrowly with black or dusky ; tail cinnamon-
rufous, the feathers lined along the shaft with dull black to dusky;
wings dusky, with the lesser coverts edged with pale cinnamon-
rufous; the middle and greater coverts, primaries and inner secon-
daries with external margins narrowly cinnamon-rufous; lores and
sides of head dull black; a narrow, indefinite superciliary line of
dull white to dull yellowish white; rictal stripe and under surface,
including chin, white, becoming yellowish on sides, flanks, lower ab-
domen, and under tail coverts; upper foreneck streaked narrowly,
sides and breast heavily, with black to dusky; axillars and under wing
coverts white to yellowish white, lined faintly with dusky ; inner webs
of wing feathers whitish to pale buff.
396 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Juvenile, similar to adult but without yellow crown spot; dark
central stripe on rectrices usually narrower.
As a species, these birds have an extensive distribution in the
Tropical Zone from northern México through Central America, con-
tinuing in South America through Colombia, Venezuela, eastern
Peru, and Brazil to northern Argentina. The far northern birds
(subspecies MM. m. insolens) are migratory, moving southward after
Ficure 37.—Streaked flycatcher, papamoscas rayado, Myiodynastes maculatus
difficilis.
the breeding season. At the southern end of the range the very dark
birds that nest in Argentina, at the approach of southern winter move
north through the Amazon region, as far as southeastern Colombia
and southern and eastern Venezuela.
Two ot the six geographic races currently recognized are found
in Panama, one resident, the other as a migrant from the north.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 397
MYIODYNASTES MACULATUS INSOLENS Ridgway
Mvyiodynastes audax insolens Ridgway, Man. N. Amer. Birds, September 1887,
p. 332. (Mirador, Veracruz, México. )
Characters—Darker above : crown more olive, less buff; back more
olive.
Measurements.—Males (9 from México, Guatemala, Honduras),
wing 111.4-116.7 (114.1), tail 81.2-85.4 (83.3), culmen from base
24.4-27.8 (25.6), tarsus 19.0-20.8 (20.0) mm.
Females (7 from México, Guatemala), wing 106.1-110.5 (108.4),
tail 74.8-81.0 (78.7), culmen from base 24.2-26.7 (25.2), tarsus
19.5-22.8 (21.1) mm.
Passage migrant. Known at present in Panama from specimens
collected in western Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles), southern Veraguas
(Rio San Lorenzo), Canal Zone (Lion Hill), Darién (Cerro Sapo) ;
and Isla Coiba.
The first report of this form in the Republic is that of Bangs and
Barbour (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 220) who, in re-
cording an adult female of the species taken on the slopes of Cerro
Sapo, Darién, April 24, 1922, say of it that it “agrees in all of the
distinguishing characters, longer wing (109 mm); olive not cinna-
momeus pileum ... with M. m. insolens Ridgway of southeast
Mexico if that form were migratory.” As this migration was not
suspected at the time, they recorded it under the name nobilts, the
name then current for the population of the Isthmus.
In the collection of the U.S. National Museum there are two, a
male and a female, taken by E. A. Goldman April 11, 1911, at the
old Lion Hill locality in the Rio Chagres Valley of the Canal Zone,
now submerged in Gatun Lake. In addition, in more recent work |
have collected the following examples: two males on Isla Coiba,
February 1 and 2, 1956; two males in Chiriqui, one at the lakes near
El Volcan, February 15, 1960, and the other at the head of the Rio
San Bartolo, near the Costa Rican boundary west of Puerto Ar-
muelles, Chiriqui, March 1, 1966. A male in the American Museum
of Natural History came from near the mouth of the Rio San
Lorenzo, southern Veraguas, taken by Griscom April 6, 1924.
This race is recorded as nesting, or as present in the nesting season,
south to northeastern Guatemala in Petén (Nueva Agua, Tikal),
northern British Honduras (Gallon Jug), and central Honduras
(Lancetilla, La Lima, Lake Yojoa). (There appear to be no records
as yet for Nicaragua. )
398 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
MYIODYNASTES MACULATUS DIFFICILIS Zimmer
Myiodynastes maculatus difficilis Zimmer, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 963, November
18, 1937, p. 9. (Bebedero, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.)
Characters—Lighter colored above ; crown and hindneck decidedly
buff; back also with buffy borders on the darker streaks.
In several specimens, including both sexes, the iris was dark brown,
occasionally slightly more reddish; maxilla and tip of mandible
fuscous-black to black; rest of mandible dull white to flesh color;
tarsus and toes dark to dusky neutral gray; claws black.
Measurements——Males (16 from Chiriqui to Darién and San
Blas), wing 104.4-110.8 (107.4), tail 79.0-86.0 (83.2), culmen from
base 24.0-29.0 (26.9), tarsus 20.0-21.7 (20.5) mm.
Females (14 from Chiriqui to Darién and San Blas), wing 101.5-
106.0 (103.4), tail 77.1-84.8 (81.2), culmen from base 25.5-29.5
(27.4), tarsus 19.3-21.7 (20.3) mm.
Resident. Common, widely distributed through the tropical low-
lands, a few ranging to higher levels; on the Pacific slope from west-
ern Chiriqui to eastern Darién, including the Azuero Peninsula; to
1675 meters on the western and eastern sides of Volcan Bart. On
the Caribbean slope, from El Uracillo, northern Coclé, east through
the northern Canal Zone, the lower Chagres Valley, and the Province
of Colon to eastern San Blas (Puerto Obaldia) ; recorded on the
Pacific coast in the Archipiélago de las Perlas (islas Pacheca, Saboga,
Chapera, Rey, Pedro Gonzalez, and San José) ; in Golfo de Montijo
on Isla Cébaco; Isla Coiba; in the Islas Contreras (Isla Brincanco) ;
in Golfo de Chiriqui, on the islas Bolanos and Parida.
These attractive flycatchers are widely distributed in forest areas,
where often they are not easily seen as they may range in the top of
the high treecrown, hidden by leaves. They come also regularly to
forest edge, trees standing in pastures and fields to the borders of
mangrove swamps along the coast, and around any clearings when
second growth appears. It is usual to find them in pairs that rest
near one another, the sexes ordinarily readily evident because of
the larger size of the males. They are active in feeding, but other-
wise rather quiet since they are not unduly aggressive toward other
birds that come near, except occasionally around their nests. Even
then they pay little attention to tanagers, honeycreepers, and other
small birds, but may attack fiercely such nest predators as hawks and
toucans.
Attention often is attracted to them by their calls, which can be
vociferous but usually are subdued—a rather metallic, nasal sounding
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 399
note without great carrying power. When excited at approach to
their nests, they become loud and noisy. (Though several authors
have rendered the call in English terms, personally I have found
these insufficiently suggestive to recall to mind the actual sounds.)
Morning and evening, males join the notes in a steadily repeated song,
a quiet effort, pleasing to hear.
The nest usually is in a hollow in a tree trunk, often the old
nesting hole of a woodpecker. They may also place a nest in the bases
of the huge leaf stems of palms, while some select the shelter of
masses of bromeliads growing on tree trunks. On Barro Colorado
Island, Eisenmann (Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 117, no. 5, 1952,
p. 40) records that in several years they placed nests in a partly
protected angle on a metal roof. Other pairs have attempted to use
window ledges as sites where, when the nest material was blown away,
they have occupied a small box specially placed for them.
The nest is a bulky accumulation of twigs, rootlets, and similar
materials, with a central open cup for the eggs. Where the birds
occupy an old woodpecker hole, the cavity often is filled completely
so that the female during incubation looks out the entrance hole.
The female alone builds the nest, though accompanied regularly by
the male, and also incubates alone. The male joins in feeding the
young. Three is the normal set of eggs, in color whitish or cream-
white, heavily marked overall with reddish brown, often in a circlet
around the larger end. Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960,
p. 381) gives the sizes in one set on Barro Colorado Island as 27.0
18.3, 27.8x 18.3, and 28.2x19.1 mm. A. O. Gross (Wilson Bull.,
1950, p. 189) lists the dimensions of three also on Barro Colorado
island, as, 22.8 18.9, 23:0 19.1, and.24.2< 19.5, mm: oR. Kreuger
(Oologists’ Rec., vol. 43, 1969, p. 27) records the size of two eggs
from Costa Rica as 26.6 17.8 and 27.7 18.1 mm, and in addition
to the brown spotting says that some “‘lilac-grey markings exist.”
These flycatchers take the usual variety of insects as food, and
also kill and eat small lizards. In addition they are regular visitors to
the feeding trees whose ripening berries are attractive to so many
birds. Such vegetable matter appears to be a considerable item in
their food. Stomachs that I have examined usually have held insect
remains of hemiptera, cicadas, beetles, and caterpillars, all species
of medium size, and in addition, seeds from berries.
In Costa Rica, Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
p. 245) recorded this race as resident. Skutch (cit. supra, pp. 374-
376, 383) however, reports that in western Costa Rica it is migratory,
400 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
present for the nesting period from late February and early March
until late September.
MYIODYNASTES HEMICHRYSUS (Cabanis): Golden-bellied
Flycatcher, Papamoscas Barriga-dorada
Hypermitres hemichrysus Cabanis, Journ. f. Orn., vol. 9, July 1861, p. 247.
(Costa Rica.)
Medium size; bill large, a broad white line above and behind eye,
a narrow one below; lower surface bright yellow.
Description —Length 190-205 mm. Adult (sexes alike), anterior
crown dark gray with very fine dusky shaft lines, paler, faintly
mottled with white, on forehead, changing to slaty black on posterior
half ; a partly concealed orange-yellow stripe, bordered with white, on
center of crown; superciliary white, greatly expanded behind the
eye, the two sides separated behind by dark gray of hindneck ; a broad
black line on side of head, passing through eye; below this a narrow
line of dull white bordered below by a broader line of dull grayish
black on the ramal area; back dark grayish green; lower rump and
upper tail coverts somewhat darker, bordered narrowly with dull
rufous; tail fuscous with the feathers bordered narrowly externally
with dull gray, internally more broadly with pale dull buff; wings
fuscous-black; inner secondaries bordered with yellowish white;
primary coverts and inner primaries edged narrowly with rufous;
chin and throat white; rest of under surface bright yellow; axillars
and under wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of flight feathers
narrowly cinnamon-buff.
Immature, white stripes on side of head much broader ; crown and
back dull grayish brown; wings and tail more broadly edged with
rufous ; under surface paler yellow.
H. J. Watson in an adult male (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. no. 496579)
taken at Boquete, Chiriqui, April 19, 1905, recorded the iris as brown;
bill black, and feet black.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui and Veraguas), wing
102.9-107.7 (105.7), tail 80.1-86.0 (83.1), culmen from base 21.0-
24.7 (23.4), tarsus 18.2-20.3 (19.4) mm.
Females (9 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Veraguas), wing 97.0-
103.6 (100.3), tail 79.5-84.5 (81.7), culmen from base 21.8-24.0
(22.9), tarsus 17.5-20.0 (19.3) mm.
Resident. Rare in the Subtropical Zone in western Chiriqui; re-
corded also in the higher elevations of western Bocas del Toro, and in
Veraguas.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 401
The early records of this species were by Arcé who sent specimens
to Salvin taken near Chitra, Calovévora, and Calobre on the Pacific
slope of Veraguas. Three of these from the last two localities are now
in the British Museum. H. J. Watson collected a male at 1220 meters
above Boquete, April 19, 1905, and Mrs. M. E. Davidson a male at
1524 meters at Chiquero, December 17, 1933, and a female at 1615
meters at Horqueta above Boquete, February 5, 1934. The Monniche
collection in the Field Museum has others from Lérida and Quiel in
this same area, and also a male at 1584 meters at Camp Cilindro on
the Holcomb Trail in adjacent Bocas del Toro. In February 1955,
I collected a male and saw at least two others on the long, forested
ridge of Cerro Picacho at 1880 meters west of El Volcan. Others
were seen here somewhat lower down on February 7, 8, and 13, 1960.
We have one other male, collected by Dr. C. Lynn Hayward above
Cerro Punta on March 8, 1962.
I found them in the high tree crown, moving rather slowly among
the leaves, and also coming to a feeding tree. In this, one flew out,
seized the small drupes one at a time and then came back to a lower
perch to swallow them. Their low calls, heard rather indistinctly,
suggested those of the streaked flycatcher, a resemblance heightened
by their similarity in movement, but with a confusing suggestion of
the Boat-billed Flycatcher because of their yellow breasts and dark
backs.
In Costa Rica, where Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960,
pp. 392-395) found them more common, he heard a high, sharp call
and a three-noted melodious phrase that resembled a song. They were
found in pairs throughout the year. Two nests that he observed were
placed in recesses among the mosses and epiphytes abundant in the
cloud forest, elevated 20 to 30 meters above the ground. The nests,
built by the female alone (though accompanied by her mate), were
made mainly of green moss. As they were inaccessible, he made no
notes on the eggs or young.
Though Hellmayr has listed hemichrysus as a race of the more
southern M. chrysocephalus, it differs so distinctly in the brighter
yellow of the under surface, without streaking on the breast, even
in the juvenile stage, that it is to be treated as a separate species.
MYIODYNASTES CHRYSOCEPHALUS MINOR Taczanowski and
Berlepsch: Golden-crowned Flycatcher, Papamoscas Corona-dorada
Myiodynastes chrysocephalus minor Taczanowski and Berlepsch, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, June 1, 1885, p. 91. (Machay, Rio Pastaza, Ecuador.)
402 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Medium size; generally similar to M. hemichrysus but white
streak behind eye much smaller; paler yellow on lower surface, with
breast indistinctly streaked.
Description—Length 195-205 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck dark gray; forehead freckled with white; a narrow
white superciliary, slightly expanded behind eye; a partly concealed
yellow spot, bordered with white laterally, in center of crown; a
dusky stripe on side of head from lores through eye and auricular
region; hindneck, back, and rump dull greenish gray, with lower
rump and upper tail coverts bordered narrowly with rufous; tail
fuscous, the rectrices bordered externally faintly with whitish, in-
ternally more broadly with cinnamon-buff; wings fuscous; inner
secondaries bordered with white; greater and middle coverts edged
with white to dull buff ; primaries, except the two external, and outer
secondaries edged with rufous; a dull white malar streak bordered
below by a broader line of dark gray; chin and foreneck dull white
to faintly buffy white; rest of under surface rather dull yellow ; breast
and sides streaked indistinctly with dark gray; axillars and under
wing coverts pale yellow; inner border of under wing feathers edged
narrowly with pale cinnamon-buff.
Immature, upper breast and foreneck washed with buff.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién and Colombia), wing
103.5-107.8 (105.7), tail 82.5-89.0 (85.0), culmen from base 22.5-
Z5./ (23.9), tarsus 17.5—-18.8.C18:1) mm.
Females (10 from Darién and Colombia), wing 97.7-103.8
(101.3), tail 79.1-84.7 (82.3), culmen from base 22.5-25.5 (24.0),
tarsus 17.9-19.2 (18.5) mm.
Resident. Rare in the Subtropical Zone of Cerro Pirre and Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién.
This flycatcher, widely distributed in the mountains of Colombia
and Ecuador, is known in Panama from two specimens in the col-
lections of the U.S. National Museum (first reported in Proc. Biol.
Soc. Washington, vol. 80, 1967, p. 242). The first, a female, was
collected by E. A. Goldman on Cerro Pirre, April 17, 1912, at 1580
meters near the head of the Rio Limon. The second, a male, was
secured by Dr. Pedro Galindo of the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory
on May 25, 1963, at 1460 meters near the point where the ridge of
Cerro Mali joins the higher slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna in the Serrania
del Darién, a short distance from the low divide that marks the
boundary with Colombia.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 403
Both specimens have the maximum amount of buff on throat that
apparently marks the first adult plumage.
The race minor appears to range in the Subtropical Zone of the
Andes of Colombia, south to central Ecuador. It was described (in
French) from specimens collected by Stolzman: “une paire de
Machay et de Mapoto,” Ecuador, collected in November 1883 and
January 1884. Mapoto, according to notes furnished by the collector,
was a hacienda at an elevation of 2130 meters on the upper Rio
Pastaza between Bafios and Canelos; Machay was another hacienda
a little lower on the same trail, at 1525 meters. This places both
localities on the eastern face of the mountains in the Province of
““Napo-Pastaza.”’
Kreuger (Ool. Rec., vol. 43, no. 2, May 1969, p. 28) describes
eggs from Venezuela of the closely related race M. c. cinerascens as
“salmon-cream with many small red-brown spots and dots nearly
forming a ring at the larger ends.’’ He lists the average size of three
as 23.7 x 19.4 mm.
Stolzman and Domaniewski, in a list of types in the Polish Museum
of Natural History (Ann. Zool. Mus. Pol. Hist. Nat., vol. 6, June 1,
1927, p. 146) cites as ‘““Typus: no. P. 2414 9 28 XI 1883. Machay
(5000’), sur Rio Pastaza, Ecuador or.’ They say that two males
collected by Stolzman at Mapoto and Surupata were taken to Rostoff
during the war, and had not yet been returned. Hellmayr (Cat.
Birds Amer., pt. 5, 1927, p. 128) says merely “‘type examined” with
no further statement.
MEGARYNCHUS PITANGUA MEXICANUS (Lafresnaye): Boat-
billed Flycatcher, Pico de Canoa
Scaphorhynchus mexicanus Lafresnaye, Rev. Mag. Zool, vol. 3, October 1851,
p. 473. (México. )
Medium size; yellow underneath ; dusky head with prominent white
line over eye, and large, broad bill.
Description—Length 205-235 mm. Bill large, long, and broad,
with prominently hooked tip. Adult (sexes alike), crown and side of
head dull black, in some faintly grayer; center of crown with a large
concealed spot of yellow and rufous, these feathers white at base;
forehead grayish white ; a broad white superciliary stripe that becomes
wider at the nape; back, scapulars, and rump greenish olive, varying
somewhat in depth of greenish cast; wings and tail grayish brown,
secondaries edged lightly with grayish white, primaries and rectrices
with cinnamon; chin and upper throat white; rest of lower surface,
404 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
including axillars and under wing coverts, bright yellow; inner webs
of wing feathers dull cinnamon-buff. |
Young, without crown spot; similar to adult in general pattern
of coloration, but forehead white and the white superciliary band
broadly continuous across nape; feathers of entire upper surface,
including wings and tail, edged broadly with cinnamon-rufous.
Immature, feathers of back with a subterminal bar of dusky and
tip of dull cinnamon-buff; without the concealed crown patch until
first complete molt.
A male taken near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, January 30, 1966,
had the iris dark brown; bill black, with the inside of the mouth on
both maxilla and mandible very pale grayish white; tarsus and toes
fuscous-brown ; claws black.
A female, at Las Palmitas, Los Santos, January 21, 1962, had the
iris dark mouse. brown; bill black ; upper end of tarsus dusky neutral
gray, shading at center to black which continues over toes and claws.
Measurements—Males (13 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos,
Canal Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 120.2-127.2 (123.5), tail
81.2-94.2 (87.5), culmen from base 31.2-36.1 (33.6), tarsus 19.0-
21.2 (20.2) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Los Santos, Province of Panama, and
Bocas del Toro), wing 120.4-125.4 (122.5), tail 80.1-89.7 (85.3),
culmen from base 30.7-36.2 (33.1), tarsus 19.0-21.2 (20.5) mm.
Weight, ¢ adult, 61.1 grams (R. S. Crossin).
Resident. Common; found throughout the Tropical Zone and the
lower Subtropical Zone in Chiriqui, regularly to 1280 meters near
El Volcan, less frequently to 1900 meters at Cerro Punta. Recorded
on Isla Cébaco in Golfo de Montijo, and Isla Rancheria (near Isla
Coiba).
This is a common bird in the borders of forests, groves, and
scattered stands of trees, through the savannas and more open areas
of the Pacific slope and the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula; in
groves and clearings elsewhere. It lives also, apparently in lesser
number, across the high treecrown in forest areas, but there is less
often seen because of the cover of leaves. Though it may dispossess
a kingbird from a high commanding perch on a palm spike, it rests
more frequently under partial cover of leaves. Apparently it does
not cross wide expanses of water as Isla Cébaco at the entrance of
Golfo de Montijo and Isla Rancheria near Coiba are the only islands
at all distant from the mainland on which I have found it.
Boat-bills range singly or in pairs, scattered through their haunts,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 405
associated more closely with others of their kind only when attracted
to feeding trees, or when they are accompanied by their young. These,
when grown, may remain with the parents for a time so that four or
five may range together.
A usual call is a rather loud single note that may be repeated
quickly. A chattering repetition with fainter sound, often in a
querulous or complaining cadence, has less carrying power. Occa-
sional more forceful calls in rapid sequence may be suggestive of the
rattling of a kingfisher. Skutch (Auk, 1951, pp. 32-33) describes
a repetition by the male of the more musical notes as a dawn-song
given before sunrise at the beginning of the nesting season. In this
the bird rests high in a tree at the forest border or in the open.
The nest, built by the female, has a foundation of twigs broken
from dead branches, with rootlets and other parts of epiphytes picked
from the trunks of trees. With these the bird forms an open, shallow
cup, lined with finer materials. While this may be placed as low as
6 meters from the ground, usually it is much higher, up to 30 meters.
Males may accompany the females during nest-building and even
carry a bit of the material, but this is dropped or held, and is not
offered to the builder. The eggs, two or three in number, are de-
scribed by Skutch (idem, p. 38) as ‘‘whitish, thickly speckled with
brown and pale lilac . . . most densely on the large end.” A set of
two eggs (originally three but one broken and discarded) of M. fp.
mexicanus collected by Charles W. Richmond on the Rio Escondido,
above Bluefields, Nicaragua, have the ground color very pale buffy
white. One is heavily, the other sparingly, covered rather uniformly
with dots and small- to medium-size lines and irregularly shaped
markings of cinnamon-rufous and bluish gray. They measure 29.9 x
20.8 and 29.6x 20.8 mm. A single egg, received from Dr. Pedro
Galindo, collected at Almirante, Bocas del Toro, March 29, 1962, is
oval in form, very pale buffy white, sparingly dotted with gray and
dark brownish black. The size is 31.4X21.9 mm. Belcher and
Smooker (Ibis, 1937, p. 233) give measurements of a set of three
of the nominate race, /. p. pitangua, from Trinidad as 29.5 x 21.5,
29.5 x 21.5, and 30.0 x 21.5 mm.
The female incubates alone, with the male nearby. When she is
away from the nest he remains to watch and guard the eggs or
nestlings. The young do not leave the nest until at 24 days of age
they are able to fly. As stated above, they may continue in the com-
pany of the parents until the onset of the next breeding season. Pairs
that lose their eggs or young also remain together.
406 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The food of the boat-bill is larger insects, which it picks usually
from twigs and leaves, and berries secured in the same manner. They
are said also to eat small lizards and minnows.
The fact that these are forest birds, resting and moving among
twigs and leaves, should be kept in mind in selecting specimens for
measurements as wing and tail feathers become abraded at the tip.
The wing tip especially may become definitely shortened. True size
is obtained only from specimens that are not worn.
Megarynchus pitangua as a species has wide distribution from
México through Central America and South America to Paraguay and
northern Argentina. Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907,
p. 666) called attention to larger size in northern birds compared to
those of South America. Those of Panama have the dimensions of the
northern group, which continues through Darién and San Blas into
northwestern Colombia. Other subspecies based on slight differences
in color have been named from limited areas in western México,
Guatemala, and western Ecuador.
CORYPHOTRICCUS PARVUS ALBOVITTATUS (Lawrence):
White-ringed Flycatcher, Atrapamoscas Corona Anillada
Pitangus albovittatus Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 4, January 1862, p. 11. (Atlantic
slope, line of the Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Rather small; white throat, yellow breast ; a conspicuous white line
above eye and around back of head.
Description—Length 145-155 mm. Male, crown sooty brown
(almost black); a large central crown patch of orange-yellow; a
broad white stripe from the forehead, above the eye, where it becomes
wider and encircles the back of the head: side of head from lores
to the auricular region deep blackish brown, like crown; side of
hindneck, back, rump, and upper tail coverts grayish olive-green ;
tail dark grayish brown, with the rectrices edged faintly with light
grayish brown; wings dusky, with innermost secondaries edged with
white; chin and upper throat white; rest of under surface and under
wing coverts yellow, darker on the abdomen and under tail coverts;
inner margin of underside of wing feathers edged narrowly with dull
white.
Adult female, crown patch light yellow, otherwise like male.
Measurements.—Males (3 from Province of Panama and Colom-
bia), wing 80.4-82.6 (81.4), tail 62.4-63.9 (63.2), culmen from base
19.2-20.0 (19.5), tarsus 18.0-18.8 (18.4) mm.
Females (4 from Province of Panama, Darién, and Colombia),
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 407
wing 76.1-81.5 (78.5), tail 56.2-64.2 (61.3), culmen from base 19.6—
20.1 (19.8), tarsus 17.8-18.1 (18.0) mm.
Resident. Uncommon; found locally on the Pacific slope in eastern
Province of Panama, near Tocumen, on Cerro Azul, near Chepo, and
on the Rio Chiman; in Darién, on Cerro Sapo, and near Jaqué; on the
Caribbean slope recorded on Barro Colorado Island, near Gamboa,
and at Achiote, Canal Zone, and Rio Piedras, eastern Colon.
The type of the subspecies albovittatus, named by George N.
Lawrence, was collected by McLeannan and Galbraith on the Carib-
bean slope of the Canal Zone. E. O. Willis has seen it at Gigante
Bay on Barro Colorado Island, and J. H. Karr and others found
it in the Navy Pipeline area near Gamboa. Eisenmann recorded it in
1969 on the Achiote road west of the Canal, near the boundary with
western Colon. Records supplied by Eisenmann report it as found
regularly near Rio Piedras on the Canal Zone boundary with eastern
Colon. E. S. Morton collected one at 760 meters on Cerro Azul,
January 6, 1966.
On the Pacific slope Eisenmann found a pair for several years near
the Tocumen airport. A male in the Peabody Museum was collected
by Austin Smith at San Antonio on the lower Rio Bayano east of
Chepo. On February 27, 1950, where the Rio Corott enters the
Rio Chiman, above Chiman, Panama, I found a male and two females
in active mating displays. All three called with much noise. The
male in level flight produced a loud rattling sound by vibrating the
wing suddenly. At rest, it held the wings partly spread and moved
them tremulously. One was taken in 1941 on the Fifth Vanderbilt
Expedition at about 900 meters on Cerro Sapo above Garachiné,
Darién (Bond and de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Mon.
6, 1944, p. 37). March 10, 1950, I collected one in forest at 300
meters elevation on the base of Cerro Chucanti. At Charco del Toro,
on the head of tidewater on the Rio Majé at the end of March several
were noted along the banks of the river.
The nominate race Coryphotriccus parvus parvus found in the
Guianas and northern Brazil differs in having the throat yellow, like
the rest of the underparts, instead of white as in albovittatus. Haver-
schmidt (Auk, 1957, p. 241) on September 2, 1956, near Zanderij,
Surinam, found a nest in an old woodpecker hole near the top of a tall
dead tree. When this trunk had been felled and opened, he found a
“neatly built nest made of dry grasses, which filled the bottom of the
hole.” It held two eggs, one of them broken. ‘The shell was rather
glossy, of a cream color, and covered all over with streaks and blotches
408 BIRDS’ OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of chocolate brown, which formed an unbroken, solid, broad ring
around the large end.” The egg measured 20.8 16.0 mm.
The genus Coryphotriccus was named by Ridgway (Proc. Biol.
Soc. Washington, vol. 19, September 6, 1906, p. 115) with albovittatus
Lawrence, as type. In later, more detailed consideration Ridgway
(U.S. Nat. Mus. vol. 50, pt. 4, 1907, p. 668) pointed out that it was
“more nearly related to Conopias but bill relatively much larger
(exposed culmen equal to or slightly longer than tarsus).” On com-
parison it will be seen that the bill not only is larger, but also is con-
siderably more robust in form, with the opening of the nostril more
rounded, though the bird as a whole is smaller. The general pattern
of color and markings is closely similar in these two, except that in
Conopias there is no colored crown patch. Hellmayr (Cat. Birds
Amer., Pt. 5, 1927, pp. 136-137) recognizes the genus in listing three
races of Coryphotriccus parvus. The proposal of de Schauensee
(Spec. Birds South Amer., 1966, p. 347) to place it in Conopias on
the basis of what is said above does not appear valid.
MYIOZETETES CAYANENSIS HARTERTI Bangs and Penard:
Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Papamoscas Alicastafo
Mytozetetes cayanensis harterti Bangs and Penard, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 6, January 1921, p. 374. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Rather small; breast yellow; crown and side of head black, with a
prominent white superciliary extending back to side of hindneck;
wings edged with rufous ; crown patch orange and yellow.
Description —Length 145-155 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and side of head brownish black; forehead gray mixed with white;
a broad white superciliary stripe extending back to side of nape; a
large, partly concealed crown patch of bright orange, becoming
yellow on the sides and basally; hindneck, back, scapulars, rump,
upper tail coverts, and lesser wing coverts plain olive; rest of wings
and tail grayish brown; primaries and outer secondaries edged with
cinnamon-rufous ; larger wing coverts, inner secondaries and rectrices
edged with light olive; chin and throat white; rest of under surface,
including the axillars and under wing coverts bright yellow; inner
edge of wing feathers cinnamon.
Young, crown plain brownish black, with no bright-colored crown
patch ; wings, including the coverts, tail, and upper tail coverts edged
heavily with cinnamon-rufous ; otherwise like adult.
In male and female, the iris varies from wood brown to mouse
brown; bill, tarsus, toes, and claws are black.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 409
Measurements.—Males (14 from Veraguas, Colon, Canal Zone,
eastern Province of Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 84.9-87.3
(86.2), tail 63.8-71.2 (67.1), culmen from base 14.3-15.7 (14.9),
tarsus 18.1-18.9 (18.5) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of Panama, and
San Blas), wing 81.1-82.9 (82.0), tail 63.9-67.9 (65.6), culmen from
base 13.4-15.8 (14.7), tarsus 18.2-19.0 (18.5) mm.
Resident. Found in the Tropical Zone, on the Pacific slope; un-
common in eastern Chiriqui (San Félix) and Veraguas (Zapotillo,
Paracoté) ; recorded in the southern Canal Zone, and locally common
through eastern Province of Panama and Darién; on the Caribbean
side fairly common from the Rio Indio, Colén (including the head-
waters in northern Coclé), and the Canal Zone eastward to the
Colombian boundary ; to 600 meters on Cerro Pirre.
This species, one of South America, has its northern limit in
Panama, mainly in limited distribution in the eastern half of the
Republic. On the Pacific slope it is uncommon near Panama City.
To the west, Griscom collected it on the Rio San Lorenzo, Veraguas,
in 1924, and Aldrich took a pair February 15, 1932, at Paracoté,
Veraguas, near the head of Golfo de Montijo. In western Veraguas
I found several and collected a male on May 19, 1953, on the Rio
Bubi beyond Zapotillo. Eisenmann in September 1958 saw it there
and near Las Lajas in eastern Chiriqui. The most western record is a
female that I collected on the Rio Dupi, west of San Félix, eastern
Chiriqui, February 18, 1956. The bird has not been recorded else-
where on this slope west of Panama City and the Canal Zone. On
the Atlantic side, in 1952, I found it in small number along the Rio
Indio, in the western sector of the Province of Colén, from near the
mouth inland to the foothills at El Uracillo, on the Caribbean slope
of Coclé. From here eastward it is fairly common through the Canal
Zone, eastern Colon, and presumably through the Comarca de San
Blas, where I found it at Mandinga in the west and Puerto Obaldia
on the Colombian boundary in the east.
These flycatchers, one of several small- and medium-size kinds with
yellow breast, called Pecho Amarillo in Spanish, range in pastures,
fields, small clearings, or other open areas, usually in the vicinity of
water, where they rest quietly on open perches, turning the head
quickly from side to side and frequently expanding the breast
feathers so that the yellow color is conspicuous. Usually they are
found singly or in pairs, several being encountered in company only
when in the process of pairing. Then they may be quite vociferous,
410 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
though the usual call, a high-pitched whee-ee or see-ee-ee, has no great
carrying power. This low note distinguishes it from the louder-voiced
Vermilion-crowned Flycatcher, when the darker head markings and
rufous wing markings of the present bird may not be seen.
Their food is divided between small beetles and other insects and
the berries of trees and shrubs.
The nesting season in Panama begins in January and continues for
6 months as they may be feeding young in July. The nest is a large
rounded structure of grasses, rootlets, and similar vegetable material
placed in small trees or shrubs at the borders of clearings or meadows,
often beside some body of water. Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34,
1960, p. 447) describes as exceptions one that was built in coarse grass
standing in water, and others on small dead stubs at the water’s edge
on Barro Colorado Island. A nest found by E. A. Goldman, June 1,
1911, on the bank of the Rio Maré near Portobelo, Colon, was
fastened among forking twigs in a small tree overhanging the stream.
Built of grass and plant fibers, it was a rounded ball with an opening
in one side. The single egg was fresh. It is somewhat pointed sub-
elliptical, in color slightly creamy white marked with scattered dots
and small irregular spots of dull cinnamon-brown and dull gray, with
most of these markings concentrated in a narrow wreath at the large
end. The measurements are 23.5 X 17.0 mm.
The closely similar race Myiogetetes cayanensis hellmayri with type
locality Cachavi, northwestern Ecuador, differs in slightly darker,
more olive hue on the dorsal surface, with the rufous wing edging
faintly darker, and in somewhat larger size. Males from Caldas,
Cauca, and Huila in southwestern Colombia, with wing measurements
of 90.0-94.0 (91.2) mm, appear fairly typical of this race. Specimens
in a long series taken by Carriker from northern Choco across north-
ern Colombia to Magdalena show the average slightly darker dorsal
coloration but are intermediate in size as they are only slightly larger
than hartert. A series of 21 males has wing 87.0-91.4 (88.6) mm,
thus showing approach to the population harterti of Panama.
MYIOZETETES SIMILIS COLUMBIANUS Cabanis and Heine:
Vermilion-crowned Flycatcher, Papamoscas Copete Rojo
Myiozetetes columbianus Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., vol. 2, 1859, p. 62.
(Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia. )
Myiozetetes marginatus Lawrence, Ibis, April 1863, p. 182. (Isthmus of
Panama. )
Rather small; breast yellow; with a prominent white superciliary
extending back to side of hindneck; sides of crown gray; adult with
primaries edged with pale olive.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 4II
Description —Length 155-165 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
rather dark gray with the forehead dotted with white; concealed
crown patch bright orange-red, with base yellow; broad superciliary
white; back, scapulars, rump, and lesser wing coverts olive-green ;
upper tail coverts, grayish brown; wings (except lesser coverts)
grayish brown with pale yellowish olive edgings; tail grayish brown;
lores and side of head dusky-brown; throat and upper foreneck white ;
rest of under surface with axillars and under wing coverts bright
yellow.
Immature, like adult but without the orange-red crown patch ; wings
and tail narrowly edged with cinnamon.
In several males the iris varied from light buffy brown to mouse
brown; bill black ; tarsus and toes fuscous-black to black ; claws black.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, Coclé, Los Santos,
Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 86.8-89.5 (88.3), tail
67.0-72.9 (69.8), culmen from base 15.9-17.1 (16.4), tarsus 18.2-
18.8 (18.5) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Los Santos, Herrera,
Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 80.2—85.1 (83.0), tail
62.3-68.1 (65.4), culmen from base 15.7-16.9 (16.1), tarsus 18.1-
19.0 (18.5) mm.
Resident. Common locally, in the lower Tropical Zone in western
and central Panama; on the Pacific slope, from western Chiriqui
to the Rio Majé in the eastern sector of the Province of Panama,
including the western side of the Azuero Peninsula (Rio Mariato),
and the southern end in southwestern Los Santos (Rio Guanico, at
Las Palmitas) ; on the Caribbean side from western Bocas del Toro
to the lower Chagres Valley in the eastern sectors of the Provinces of
Panama and Colon; in western Chiriqui to 1300 meters near El
Volcan, casually to 1900 meters above Cerro Punta.
There are two records for the Azuero Peninsula, one a bird taken by
Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 7, 1937, p.
102) on the western side at the Rio Mariato, inland from the lower
Golfo de Montijo, and one that I collected on January 21, 1962, on the
Rio Guanico, near Las Palmitas, in southwestern Los Santos. I have
not found it in extensive travel on the eastern side of the peninsula.
Currently the range of the race columbianus has been considered to
be continuous from southwestern Costa Rica and western Bocas del
Toro through Panama, northern Colombia, and northern Venezuela.
In the present survey, in Panama I have no record of it for the
whole of Darién. For Comarca de San Blas also there appear to be no
specimens, the only report being sight records by D. Sheets at Puerto
412 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Obaldia and La Bonga, near the Colombian boundary. From Vene-
zuela through Colombia it is regular in occurrence west to the middle
Magdalena and middle Cauca valleys. Westward, there is one spect-
men record at Tierra Alta, Cordoba, on the middle Sinu. It appears
that there is an extensive area in which the bird is absent or very
rare as it has not been reported from the Atrato Valley, or in the
whole of the Department of Choco along the Pacific Coast.
The Vermilion-crowned Flycatcher, like the preceding species, is
found in open areas along the banks of the larger streams, along the
borders of fields and pastures, and to some degree in low second-
growth forest and thickets (rastrojo), ranging also across broader
open areas where roadside wires and fences offer suitable perches.
It comes regularly to suburban areas and around country houses.
The voice as a whole is more varied, part of its calls somewhat
more vociferous, though many are soft, somewhat sibilant and with
little carrying power. Skutch in his account of the life history
(Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 427-446) describes a dawn-song
in a male, a repetition of the common notes, heard during the nesting
season. Soft notes of greeting are used by the pair around the nest.
This structure is a domed ball of soft grasses and other vegetable
fibers, rather large in size, with an entrance in one side near the top.
This may be constructed wholly anew, or may be built on an old
cup-shaped nest of some other small bird as a base. The entrance
often is an untidy opening, fringed on the outer side with straggly
grass heads. The location ranges from less than 2 to more than 15
meters above the ground, and varies from the open top of a stump
to a site partly hidden among the branches of a thorn tree. Often
one will be found close beside a wasp nest, or in a tree with stinging
ants living in its hollow thorns. In such close association birds and
insects seem to live in harmony. Frequently the nest is located over
water. Eggs number from two or three, rarely four in a set. The
nesting season extends from February through June. Four sets in
the U.S. National Museum collected by E. A. Goldman near Gatun,
Canal Zone, April 26 and May 8, 1911, include three of three eggs
and one of four. In form the eggs are between subelliptical and
oval, in color from faintly creamy white to white, spotted rather
finely with cinnamon to chocolate-brown (varied as usual to gray
or lavender where the pigment is overlaid by a film of shell deposit).
In most the markings are grouped at the larger end, often as a cap
or wreath, occasionally with the rest of the surface plain without
markings. Measurements are as follows: two eggs in a set of three
(one broken), 22.3 x 17.8, 22.6 16.9 mm; set of three, 21.3 x 16.2,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 413
21.7 16.2, 21.8 15.5 mm; set of four (one broken) 21.5x 16.1,
21.9x 16.8, 22.9x16.5 mm; set of three 22.216.5, 22.9x 16.3,
23.4X16.5 mm. At hatching the young are covered scantily with
light gray down.
Nest-building and incubation fall to the female alone, but with
the male in close attendance. In due course he shares in feeding the
young. The latter may remain with the parents when fully grown
so that from five to six individuals may be associated for a period
in loose company. Skutch has recorded young out of the nest, but
still under parental care roosting “in a compact row on an exposed
twig of a guava tree.” Hallinan (Auk, 1924, p. 318) recorded a nest
at Gatun built on the same limb with one of the Yellow-bellied
Elaenia. At the border of the marsh at La Jagua in the savannas
east of the Rio Pacora, [ found a nest of this species and one of the
Rusty-margined Flycatcher located only 4 meters apart in the open
branches of a small tree. The two nests were similar in form but
that of the present species was about one-third less in bulk.
While these are active flycatchers of flying prey, around houses
with lawns they come regularly to the ground and hop slowly,
peering about, often with the tail cocked over the back, searching
for spiders and insects. They also have this habit of ground feeding
on open gravel bars in streams. A considerable part of their food
is taken from the berries of the royal palm, and they are regular
visitors to other fruiting trees in the forest edge. Skutch (loc. cit.,
p. 428) recorded that at open stream borders they may “venture
into shallow pools up to their thighs to catch small tadpoles.”
Some examined from the Cauca and northern Magdalena valleys
across to northern Venezuela are very slightly darker above than
the average of those of Panama, but many from both series are
too similar to allow clear separation in two subspecies. Size also
is almost identical. The darker shade in the few from Colombia
and Venezuela appears as a faint variation toward the darker dorsal
coloration of the nominate race similis found from southeastern
Colombia and southern Venezuela to the Guianas and northeastern
Brazil.
MYIOZETETES GRANADENSIS Lawrence: Gray-capped
Flycatcher, Papamoscas Copete Gris
Rather small; breast yellow; forehead and a superciliary extend-
ing only slightly behind eye, white; crown gray; lores and side of
head slaty-black ; wing edging olive.
Description —Length 150-165 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
414 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
neck gray; forehead and a narrow superciliary, extending a short
distance back of the eye, white; center of crown with a partly con-
cealed patch of orange-red, these feathers basally yellow; back,
scapulars, and rump olive-green; upper tail coverts dark olive edged
with olive-green; wing and tail dusky; rectrices edged with pale
olive; remiges, greater and middle wing coverts margined with
grayish olive; lores, space below eye, and auricular region dusky;
chin and throat white, in some tinged faintly with yellow; malar area
also white, faintly lined with pale gray; rest of under surface, with
axillars and under wing coverts bright yellow; sides of upper breast
streaked indistinctly with gray ; inner margin of wings very pale buff.
Adult female, like the male but in most without an orange crown
patch; where present this crown patch hidden and much reduced
in size.
Juvenile, in general like the adult but with no crown patch, and
with white area of forehead reduced; crown and hindneck grayish
olive-green; wings, tail, and upper tail coverts edged with rufous
or cinnamon; inner margins of wing feathers cinnamon-buff.
The species is distributed widely from eastern Honduras south-
ward through Central America, and in South America from Colombia
and southern Venezuela south to Bolivia and western Brazil.
Two slightly different subspecies are found in Panama, the nom-
inate race being the more common.
MYIOZETETES GRANADENSIS GRANADENSIS Lawrence
Myiozetetes granadensis Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 4, January 1862, p. 11. (Isthmus
of Panama: Lion Hill, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone. )
Characters.—Slightly paler on the dorsal surface; white of fore-
head slightly more extensive ; under surface faintly lighter, brighter
yellow. Juvenile with the lighter edging on wings and tail slightly
paler, more cinnamon-buff.
A male, from the Candelaria Hydrographic Station on the Rio
Pequeni, back of Madden Lake, collected March 7, 1961, had the iris
pale mouse brown; bill black; tarsus and toes fuscous; claws black.
Another male, from Gago, Coclé, January 23, 1963, had the iris
buffy brown, bill black; tarsus and toes black. A female at Puerto
Armuelles, Chiriqui, January 30, 1966, had the iris light yellowish
brown; tarsus and toes fuscous-brown, claws black. Eye color ap-
parently is lighter, more yellow in the older birds; duller, browner
in those less than a year old. The light-colored eyes of adults are
often visible in life when the light is favorable.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 415
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Canal
Zone, Panama, and Colon), wing 82.2-88.7 (85.7), tail 66.8-71.7
(69.4), culmen from base 14.8-16.7 (15.7), tarsus 18.1-18.6 (18.3)
mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, Colon, and Panama),
wing 79.2-84.7 (80.7), tail 61.4-66.3 (64.2), culmen from base
14.5-15.8 (15.0), tarsus 17.4-18.5 (18.0) mm.
Resident. Widely distributed, but found locally, in the tropical
lowlands from near the Costa Rican boundary in western Chiriqui
(Puerto Armuelles, Bugaba, Divala) eastward (San Félix) ; Vera-
guas (Sona), the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula in Los Santos
(Pedasi, Tonosi), and Coclé (Gago, Fl Valle) ; through the Province
of Panama west and east of the Canal Zone to the Rio Maje; to
1300 meters on the western side of Volcan Baru: and on the Carib-
bean side from western Bocas del Toro east through the lower
Chagres Valley and eastern Colon (Portobello).
In the original description Lawrence gave the type locality as
‘“Tsthmus of Panama.” Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull 50, pt. 14,
1907, p. 452) made this more definite by citing it from Lion Hill.
In my acquaintance with this bird in life it has seemed to be
somewhat more active than the two related species in the genus.
Like the others, they range in open areas at the borders of pasture-
lands and fields, in trees along open streams, and near second-growth
thickets, not in heavy stands of forest. They find lines of wire and
fence rows attractive, and come to open suburban areas and around
country homes. The calls, while resembling those of the Vermilion-
crowned Flycatcher, are louder. The morning calls especially are
more vociferous. On the whole, they also seem more active, often
resting for a period with the tail cocked over the back and wings
drooped, and then changing to the more usual erect position normal
in related species of this family.
They eat quantities of small berries, visiting fruiting trees in com-
pany with other flycatchers. And also make constant sallies to seize
flying insects. In this they may swing gracefully in a wide circle
in returning to the lookout post on a dead branch or wire.
Their large nests, domed, with the entrance in the side near the
top, are placed in trees and shrubs, often in those with thorny
branches, frequently also near the nests of wasps. At times the old
nest of some other small bird is taken as a base in beginning con-
struction. The location may be low or fairly high, usually with little
or no attempt at concealment. It may be in a tree occupied also by
416 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the Vermilion-crowned Flycatcher, where the two live peacefully
even though their homes may be only a few meters apart.
In Panama the nesting season begins in February and continues
through May.
Skutch writes (loc. cit., p. 411) that the usual set is of three eggs,
occasionally two, and rarely four. The color is “dull white, speckled
and coarsely blotched with pale lilac and shades of brown, chocolate
and burnt umber.” In a series the measurements ranged from 20.6—
25.0 15.9-17.5 mm, with the average for 53 eggs 23.3x17.0 mm.
The female incubates alone, calling and singing regularly in the
nest, with the male resting near. When the young appear, the male
assists in feeding them. Young call frequently and in noisy manner
in the nest. Skutch noted them in family groups until September
and October, when apparently the young may separate in pairs.
MYIOZETETES GRANADENSIS OCCIDENTALIS Zimmer
Myiosetetes granadensis occidentalis Zimmer, Amer. Mus. Noy. no. 963, No-
vember 18, 1937, p. 22. (Barbacoas, Narifio, Colombia. )
Characters.—Slightly darker on upper surface; white of forehead
somewhat less in extent; slightly deeper yellow on lower surface,
with the throat averaging faintly yellowish. Immature, with brown
edging on wings and tail slightly darker, more rufous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién and northwestern Co-
lombia in Choco and Cordoba), wing 84.0-88.1 (86.0), tail 65.6-70.8
(68.5), culmen from base 14.1-16.7 (15.3), tarsus 18.2-18.9 (18.6)
mm.
Females (10 from Darién and northwestern Colombia in Chocd
and Antioquia), wing 78.2-83.6 (80.7), tail 60.6-68.7 (63.5), culmen
from base 14.0-15.8 (14.6), tarsus 18.0-18.8 (18.3) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Tropical Zone through Darién and
eastern San Blas.
This race is less abundant than the western one because of the
forests that cover most of Darién. It is found mainly along the
streams in the larger valleys, ranging out as the land is cleared for
planting and for pasture. Habits and mannerisms are those described
for the nominate race. In eastern San Blas to date it has been re-
corded only at Permé. In Darién, at Jaqué I collected one from a
high perch in an open pasture grown with guayaba bushes. Near
the mouth of the Imamado, on the upper Rio Jaqué, I found a pair
over the river at the border of a small clearing. Near the mouth
of the Rio Paya in the Tuira River Valley they came to feeding trees
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 417
and fruiting guarumos near our camp, and also were found in small
number along the broader reaches of the river.
Beyond Panama this form ranges through western Colombia to
northwestern Ecuador, and from the Caribbean coast through An-
tioquia and Bolivar to the middle Magdalena Valley.
PITANGUS SULPHURATUS GUATIMALENSIS (Lafresnaye):
Great Kiskadee, Cristofué
Saurophagus Guatimalensis Lafresnaye, Rev. Mag. Zool., ser. 2, vol. 4, October
1852, p. 462. (Guatemala. )
Large; yellow breast; throat, forehead, and line over eye white;
crown black ; wings rufous.
Description—Length 215-225 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and side of head black with a large concealed central patch of bright
yellow, tending toward orange; forehead and a broad line over eye,
extending back across the nape, white; plumes projecting forward
over nostril, gray ; hindneck, back, scapulars, and rump, olive-brown:
upper tail coverts edged with cinnamon-rufous; tail grayish brown,
edged in varying amount with cinnamon-rufous; wings blackish
brown, the coverts edged narrowly, the primaries and secondaries
widely, with cinnamon-rufous; chin, throat, and malar region white;
rest of under surface, including axillars and under wing coverts,
lemon yellow ; inner webs of wing feathers cinnamon.
Juvenile, without yellow patch in crown; rufous edgings on wings
more extensive, and usually paler ; otherwise like adult.
According to notes by F. H. Kennard, the iris is mummy brown,
bill and tarsus black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro and Canal Zone),
wing 115.3-120.6 (117.6), tail 86.4-91.5 (89.0), culmen from base
29.0-33.4 (30.8), tarsus 24.2-27.5 (26.0) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro), wing 108.2-116.6 (112.7),
tail 76.6-90.1 (82.4), culmen from base 29.2-33.5 (30.9), tarsus
23.7-26.8 (25.6) mm.
Resident. Common in western Bocas del Toro; recently appeared
and has become established in the Canal Zone (Ancon, Balboa),
adjacent eastern Province of Colon, and Province of Panama, in
the eastern suburbs of Panama City, and at Playa Coronado in the
west (two adults and a grown juvenile, May 31, 1971, Eisenmann).
The first specimens known for Panama, four males and a female,
were collected February 11 to 22, 1926, at Almirante, Bocas del Toro
by F. H. Kennard (Kennard and Peters, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat.
418 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Hist., vol. 38, January 1928, p. 457). Simultaneously Griscom
(Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 293, January 12, 1928; p. 1) listed the
Kiskadee by scientific name only from skins collected by R. R.
Benson at Almirante and Cocoplum, Bocas del Toro, in early 1927.
Kennard reported that he found it “common and conspicuous, par-
ticularly in coconut groves and on brushy hillsides.” M. A. Carriker,
Jr. (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, no. 4, August 1910, pp. 688-689)
collected specimens and recorded the Kiskadee as common on the
“Rio Sicsola” in southeastern Costa Rica. This stream, now known
as the Rio Sixaola, marks the boundary in this area between the
Provinces of Bocas del Toro in Panama and of Limon in Costa Rica.
Carriker lived on the Costa Rican side from late January 1904 to
early August 1905 in a camp overlooking the river, located between
8 and 10 kilometers downstream from Sibube on the Panamanian
side. The indication is that the Kiskadee has been resident for more
than 60 years, probably much longer, in the area. Presumably its
spread in range has come through extensive forest clearing in recent
years along the Caribbean coast.
From detailed records furnished by Eugene Eisenmann, the Kiska-
dee was first identified in the Canal Zone on December 4, 1955, when
J. E. Ambrose saw two at Coco Solo. Soon after he saw others at
Coco Solito, Mt. Hope, Cristobal, and Rainbow City. Eisenmann,
guided by Ambrose, on June 19, 1956, saw them at New Cristobal and
Gatun Dam, and the following year Ambrose found a nest. In
August and September 1958, the bird was common on the Caribbean
slope in the Canal Zone, and on September 2 Eisenmann saw one
in the suburbs of Panama City. Later, in May 1961, he found a
pair in this area. Since then the bird has become well established in
Ancon and Balboa on the Pacific slope. It was breeding also at
Gamboa, and on April 14, 1961, Eisenmann saw one in the labora-
tory clearing on Barro Colorado Island. It is common also at Rio
Piedras, in the eastern sector of Colon.
Two specimens collected in the Canal Zone, one by E. S. Norton
near Gamboa, October 26, 1965, and one by Storrs Olson at Mira-
flores Lake, May 2, 1966, both agree with those of the race guati-
malensis represented in Bocas del Toro.
Around Bahia Almirante, and from Changuinola to the Rio
Sixaola, I found these birds common in 1958. In form they show
heavy bodies and short tails, with attractive color pattern. Usually
they rest quietly on open perches, except for turning the head to
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 419
look about, or occasionally twitching the wings. Regularly their
loud calls repeat the common name hkis-ka-dee-ee-ee, with various
other loud, strident sounds. It is usual to see two or three resting
near one another, a number increased occasionally to ten or a dozen.
Frequently they come down to the ground where they rest quietly,
moving about by hopping. Following a heavy rain, I saw one on a
low perch where it could reach the ground, watching for earthworms.
When a worm appeared, the bird seized it by one end, carried it
to a higher perch, beat it against this branch several times before
starting at one end to gulp it down. They eat many insects, small
lizards, and are also reported to seize small minnows occasionally.
Berries and drupes of various kinds are a regular part of the diet.
It is common to see a bird regurgitate the seeds of these, especially
when the pits are large. At our house in Almirante, two came to
the ground to investigate a ripe banana that I had peeled and laid in
the grass for the numerous orioles. Though after some watching the
Kiskadees moved nearer in long hops, they were suspicious, until
finally one made a quick stab at the fruit and then with bill full flew
to a perch and swallowed.
Males displayed by raising the body erect, spreading the wings
widely and moving them tremulously while calling loudly. The
nest is a fairly compact, globular mass of vegetable fibers, partly
stems and straws of dried grasses, held together by long filaments
of fine rootlets. The entrance, in the upper part of one side, allows
a view of the finer material of the lining. A nest collected by Dr.
Pedro Galindo May 15, 1962, near Almirante, measured 250 by
220 mm with a height of 130 mm. The inner chamber was 125 mm
in diameter. Another secured June 13, less bulky than the one
described, was made almost entirely of long, fibrous rootlets, with
only scattered bits of dried grasses. The inner lining also was of
finer materials. It measured approximately 180 by 200 mm, with a
height of about 120 mm. The eggs, of attractive appearance, are
pale cream-colored, varying somewhat in depth of tint, with scattered
blotches and smaller spots of dark reddish brown varying to bluish
gray where overlaid lightly by a deposit of shell. Often the markings
form a wreath around the larger end.
Kiskadees seem to show little belligerence toward smaller birds.
Once I saw a Baltimore Oriole come to rest almost within reach of
one, but with no reaction on the part of the Kiskadee.
The form under discussion ranges north to northern Guatemala.
420 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
PITANGUS LICTOR PANAMENSIS Bangs and Penard: Lesser
Kiskadee, Pecho Amarillo Orillero
Pitangus lictor panamensis Bangs and Penard, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 62,
April 1918, p. 78. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Rather small; slender; white throat; yellow breast; black crown;
bill long, slender ; call notes low, wheezy.
Description Length 155-170 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
black, with a large, nearly concealed, central patch of orange-yellow ;
forehead and lores dull gray; superciliary white, widened posteriorly
and joined across the nape to its counterpart from the other side;
lower hindneck, back, scapulars, and lesser wing coverts olive ; upper
tail coverts dark olive, edged with cinnamon; tail dark grayish brown,
the central rectrices edged externally with cinnamon, the two outer
pairs with light grayish brown; inner margins of all pale cinnamon;
wings deep grayish brown, with the primaries and secondaries, and
in some the middle and greater coverts, edged with cinnamon or
rusty; side of head dull black; malar area, chin, and throat white,
rest of under surface, including the axillars and under wing coverts,
bright lemon yellow; inner webs of wing feathers edged with cin-
namon-buff.
Juvenile, like adult, but black of head duller; crown patch absent,
or faintly indicated by hidden narrow, central shaft lines of dull
orange; rufous brown edgings of upper tail coverts, tail and wings
paler and more extensive ; yellow of under surface paler.
A male taken at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 18, 1961, had
the iris dark brown; bill black; feet fuscous-black. Another, at
El Real, Darién, January 8, 1964, was similar except that the claws
were black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and San Blas), wing 86.0-88.5 (87.1), tail 67.5-70.6 (69.2),
culmen from base 23.3-25.5 (24.1), tarsus 18.2-19.0 (18.6) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone and eastern Province of Panama),
wing 80.5-82.9 (81.9), tail 63.7-67.0 (65.1), culmen from base
21.7-23.5 (22.7), tarsus 17.4-18.7 (17.9) mm.
Resident. Locally, fairly common in the tropical lowlands from
the Canal Zone east through eastern Province of Panama and Darién,
and through eastern Colon and the Comarca de San Blas. They are
casual in occurrence from the Pacific side of the Canal Zone east
to the Rio Pacora, locally common on the Caribbean slope through-
out the lower Chagres Valley, including the shores of Gatun Lake.
Their main habitat is in marshy areas along the open shores of
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 421
the larger rivers and the borders of mangrove swamps. On the
Caribbean coast at Mandinga, San Blas, three came from the cover
of mangroves to a pool of fresh water where they drank and bathed,
and then returned to the salt environment of the swamp. Bushes
and low trees standing in shallow freshwater marshes are a common
haunt. Normally they rest on perches near or over the water, and
seldom rise to high commanding posts. In this, and in their softer
notes, they differ completely from the larger Kiskadee, which they
resemble so closely in color and in pattern of markings. Usually
they are found in pairs, resting near one another. Usually also they
are tame and are attracted easily by squeaking sounds, when they
come near with low, wheezy calls of no great carrying power. These
are plaintive chattering sounds, pree-ee-ee-pree-a, or whee-ee-ee
whee-o, in which the first notes are uttered slowly, drawled and
lengthened, the latter calls more quickly. Around larger bodies of
water they range in the open to bushes and low trees over grassy areas. |
The nest of this species was first described by the Penards
(Vogels van Guyana, vol. 2, 1910, p. 246) as bowl shaped and rather
flat, made of grass and leaves. This was verified by Haverschmidt
(Auk, 1957, pp. 240-241). As this differs completely from the
rounded, covered globe with the entrance near the top at one side
of the Great Kiskadee, the identification was questioned by some,
more recently by T. A. W. Davis (Auk, 1961, pp. 276-277). Verifi-
cation of the earlier account came immediately from Haverschmidt
(Auk, 1961, pp. 277-278), from W. John Smith (Auk, 1962, pp.
108-111), and from E. O. Willis (idem, p. 111). At the Barro
Colorado Island laboratory I have examined a nest collected by
Willis on the island shore on August 13, 1962. This nest was lo-
cated amid grasses above the top of a stump standing in water. It
was of open construction of fibrous vegetation on a base of coarse
stems and bits of vine. The cup was approximately 75 mm in diameter
by 40 mm deep, very small, even for so slender a bird.
Hellebrekers (Zool. Med. Rijksm. Nat. Hist. Leiden, vol. 24,
1942, p. 260) described the long series of eggs of the nominate race
Pitangus lictor lictor in the Penard collection from Surinam as
broadly oval to spherical in form, without gloss, whitish to yellowish
cream in color, marked heavily with dark purplish brown, reddish
brown, to nearly black, mainly on the larger end, in some forming
a ring or cap. Size ranged from 18.7 x 16 and 19.8 x 14.3 to 20.7 x 16.0
and 22.0 x 17.2 mm, with 20.7 x 16.0 mm as the average of 50 speci-
mens.
422 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The race panamensis found through eastern Panama and across
northern Colombia differs from the nominate form only in slightly
larger average size. Measurements of a small series of P. /. lictor
are as follows: Males (10 from Venezuela and Brazil), wing 89.5—
93.5 (90.8), tail 67.5-74.8 (71.9), culmen from base 22.5-25.1 (23.8),
tarsus 19.0-21.6 (19.9) mm. Females (10 from Venezuela and
Brazil), wing 81.4-87.4 (84.6), tail 64.7-71.0 (68.1), culmen from
base 22.1-25.2 (23.7), tarsus 18.1-19.0 (18.4) mm.
Assignment of lictor to the genus Pitangus follows current usage.
Actually while the species in question is like P. sulphuratus in colors
and pattern of markings, it differs decidedly in its calls, manner of
life, and nesting. In addition, details of -form in the palatal region
of the skull also differ widely in the two. It is in fact a separate
entity as suggested by Haverschmidt (cit. supra, p. 241). A de-
tailed study in life should assist in clarifying the status of the two
in relation to one another, probably with lictor placed in a separate
genus.
MYIARCHUS CRINITUS (Linnaeus): Great Crested
Flycatcher, Cabezota de Paso
Figure 38
Medium size; upper surface grayish and brownish olive; lower
breast and abdomen yellow; under side of tail cinnamon-rufous.
Description—Length 185-200 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
olive to somewhat greenish olive, with the crown feathers browner,
and darker on the centers; tail with middle pair of rectrices and
outer webs of others brownish olive, in the outer two or three this
color extended as a narrow line along the inner side of the shaft; the
inner webs on the outer pairs cinnamon-rufous; wings dusky brown;
middle and greater coverts and the secondaries tipped and edged with
brownish white to dull white or yellowish white ; central area of basal
half or more of primaries edged externally with cinnamon-rufous ;
sides of head gray; auricular area olive; chin to upper breast gray,
with the throat in some lined indistinctly with dull white; sides of
upper breast and neck yellowish olive; lower breast, abdomen and
under tail coverts light yellow; axillars and under wing coverts paler
yellow; inner webs of wing feathers edged with pale cinnamon-
rufous.
Juvenile, like adult, but upper tail coverts and outer webs of tail
feathers edged with rufous; cinnamon-rufous edgings of primaries
broader, with this color tipping the light edgings of the wing coverts.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 423
Two very slightly different subspecies are included in these migrant
visitors from the north, one averaging faintly darker. The differences
are evident in the extreme examples but with intergradation through
which allocation of numerous individuals is difficult. All may be
identified only from comparison of specimens in hand.
They range through the lowlands, except that few are found in the
Ficure 38.—Great crested flycatcher, cabezota de paso, Myiarchus crinitus.
savanna areas toward the sea on the Pacific slope. On the Azuero
Peninsula they are found mainly on the western side and the southern
end, more rarely on the eastern side where I recorded single birds in
gallery forest on the Rio Escota near Santa Maria, Herrera, on March
8 and 9, 1948, and one near Pesé, Herrera, on March 24 following.
In fall flight the early records are September 11, 1965 (Kisen-
mann and Willis) and September 20, 1961 (Willis), with the birds
common through October and November. While many appear to
424 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
pass on southward, they are common through the winter as I have
recorded them regularly from late December through March and
April. Late records in spring include one at Fort Davis, Canal Zone,
May 11, 1961 (Eisenmann) and one on May 25, 1961, at Barro
Colorado by Willis (Living Bird, 1966, p. 192). Eisenmann recorded
one at 700 meters near our quarters at Buena Vista, Chiriqui, March
4, 1960; Ridgely found one near Boquete, Chiriqui, November 9 to
11, 1968; Goldman collected one at 550 meters at Cana, Darién,
February 28, 1912.
In general they are restricted to the mainland, though on Isla
Coiba I collected one January 19, 1956. Elsewhere in the Gulf of
Chiriqui I recorded one March 23, 1962, on Isla Brincanco, in the
Contreras group, and several on Isla Parida February 2 to 7, 1963.
Others were recorded on Isla Gobernadora January 8 to 10, and
Isla Cébaco, January 15, in the Gulf of Montijo. The only record
for the Perlas Islands is of two taken on Isla Saboga April 9 and 13,
1904, by W. W. Brown, Jr. While several may be seen during a day,
they range singly, or two or three near one another. A majority of
the records in my own notes are of birds heard calling from forest
cover.
A major part of their food in their winter quarters in Panama
is the small fruits of berry-bearing trees. They visit such trees
regularly in company with the resident tropical birds that seek this
supply. Eisenmann reports them feeding on the berries of mistletoe,
and of uvero, Hamelia nodosa of the Madder family. In addition I
have found large orthoptera and other insects in the’stomachs of
those I have collected.
MYIARCHUS CRINITUS CRINITUS (Linnaeus)
Turdus crinitus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, 1758, p. 170. (South
Carolina. )
Characters——Dorsal surface slightly darker, grayer ; bill somewhat
larger and heavier.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Florida and South Carolina, at
the end of May to mid-August), wing 100.3-104.0 (102.2), tail
88.4-92.8 (89.9), culmen from base 23.8-26.2 (24.8), tarsus 20.8-
22.5 (21.5) mm.
Females (10 from Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, in May and
June), wing 93.4-99.7 (96.4), tail 79.7-86.6 (83.5), culmen from
base 22.4-24.2 (23.3), tarsus 20.2-21.7 (20.8) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 425
Migrant from the north, and winter resident; specimen records
follow.
Chiriqui: Puerto Armuelles, November 8, 1929, February 21, 1966;
San Félix, December 1, 1931.
Bocas del Toro: Cocoplum, October 29, 1927 ; Almirante, October 4,
1964; Boquete Trail, 450 meters, above Chiriqui Grande, March
22°:1926,
Los Santos: Las Palmitas, January 23, 1962.
Province of Panama: La Campana, March 4, 1951; Charco del Toro,
March 24, 1950.
Canal Zone: Farfan, October 17, 1955.
Darién: Jesucito, April 9, 1922; Boca de Paya, Rio Tuira, March 15,
1959; Pucro, February 5, 1964.
Isla Gobernadora: January 8, 1965; Isla Saboga: April 9, 13, 1904.
The breeding range in the north extends from southeastern Louisi-
ana and southern Mississippi to southern South Carolina, and south-
ward in the lowlands of Georgia through Florida. Obviously the
total population is small, a fact reflected in the few individuals found
in the considerable series of migrant birds seen in winter from the
Republic of Panama.
MYIARCHUS CRINITUS BOREUS Bangs
Myiarchus crinitus boreus Bangs, Auk, vol. 15, no. 2, April 1898, p. 179.
(Scituate, Massachusetts. )
Characters—Dorsal surface averaging lighter, somewhat olive
greenish gray; bill somewhat smaller and slightly less in bulk, often
slightly shorter.
Measurements.—Males (10 from North Carolina and Tennessee
to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Maryland, from late April
to early July), wing 100.1-106.2 (103.4), tail 87.3-92.5 (89.6), cul-
men from base 22.7-24.6 (23.0), tarsus 20.4-21.8 (21.3) mm.
Females (10 from Kentucky and Virginia to Kansas, Pennsylvania,
and Rhode Island, in May, June), wing 93.9-99.1 (96.4), tail 80.6—
85.2 (83.1), culmen from base 20.6-23.6 (22.1), tarsus 20.2-21.4
(20.7) mm.
Migrant from the north, and winter resident. Common; specimen
records range from western Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro, eastward,
including the wooded and partly wooded areas of the Azuero
Peninsula, to eastern Darién and eastern San Blas. Island records
are as follows: Isla Parida, Isla Coiba, Isla Cébaco, Isla Gobernadora.
The breeding range extends from southeastern Saskatchewan east
426 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
in southern Canada to Nova Scotia, southward to south-central Texas,
central Louisiana, northwestern Georgia, and central South Carolina.
Through this vast area the bird is locally common. As the total
population of this race is large, it forms the great majority of those
that come to Panama, as indicated by the many specimens.
MYIARCHUS FEROX PANAMENSIS Lawrence: Short-crested
Flycatcher, Cabezota Comin
Myiarchus Panamensis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. qi
May 1860, p. 284. (Atlantic slope of the Canal Zone near the Panama Rail-
road. )
Medium size; grayish olive above ; foreneck and breast light gray,
rest of lower surface yellow.
Description—Length 185-200 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface grayish olive; feathers of crown with darker shaft lines;
upper tail coverts somewhat more grayish; tail dark grayish olive,
with tips of rectrices, and outer web of lateral rectrix, paler; wings
dusky-olive; lesser and middle coverts tipped widely with grayish
olive; tips of greater coverts indistinctly paler, whiter, inner pri-
maries edged narrowly with dull white; secondaries tipped and edged
with grayish white; a finely dotted white line around the eye; lores
and ramal area dull gray; throat and upper breast gray; rest of
under surface light yellow; axillars and under wing coverts yellowish
white, changing to yellowish olive on the sides; inner margin of
under side of wings buffy white.
Juvenile, primaries and rectrices edged widely with cinnamon-
rufous.
A male, taken at Pacora, Panama, March 23, 1961, had the iris
wood brown; bill black; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws
black; inside of mouth orange. Another male, from Isla Parida,
Golfo de Chiriqui, February 5, 1963, had the iris mouse brown;
base of bill fuscous, rest black; tarsus and toes fuscous-black: claws
black.
A female, from La Jagua, Panama, January 13, 1962, had the iris
wood brown; base of mandible grayish white, rest of bill black; tarsus
and toes dusky neutral gray; claws black. In another, from Las
Palmitas, Los Santos, January 22, 1962, the base of the mandible was
dull brownish white; other colors as in the first. A third of this sex,
from El Llano, Panama, February 4, 1962, had the iris wood brown;
bill fuscous-brown, slightly paler at the base of the mandible; tarsus
and toes dusky neutral gray ; claws black.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 427
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Canal Zone), wing
91.5-96.3 (94.2), tail 86.3-92.0 (88.8), culmen from base 21.0-
22.5 (21.7), tarsus 23.2-24.7 (23.8) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Coclé, Los Santos, Canal Zone, and
Province of Panama), wing 85.5-88.9 (87.5), tail 80.7-88.6 (83.8),
culmen from base 21.0-24.0 (22.1), tarsus 22.5-24.6 (23.2) mm.
Resident. Common throughout the tropical lowlands on both
slopes, from western Chiriqui and western Bocas del Toro (AI-
mirante, Cocoplum) eastward, including the Azuero Peninsula, to
Colombia; to 1280 meters elevation near El Volcan and 1220 meters
at Boquete, Chiriqui. Islas Parida, Brincanco, and Afuerita, in Golfo
de Chiriqui; islas Coiba and Rancheria; Isla Gobernadora, Golfo de
Montijo; Isla Iguana, off the coast of Los Santos; islas Taboga,
Taboguilla and Urava; islas Pacheca, Saboga, Bayoneta, Malaga,
Vivienda, Rey, Cafias, Santelmo, Moreno, Pedro Gonzalez and San
José, Archipiélago de Las Perlas.
This, one of the more plainly colored of the Yellow-breasted Fly-
catchers called pechi-amarillo from the yellow color of the under
surface, is widely distributed through the Tropical Zone from the
Costa Rican boundary eastward throughout the lowlands of Panama
and much of Colombia. In southwestern Chiriqui I found this bird
in 1966 near Puerto Armuelles, where it had been taken earlier ( No-
vember 26, 1929) by Mrs. Davidson. In adjacent Costa Rica, Slud
(Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 128, 1964, p. 250) lists it at Rincon
de Osa on Golfo Dulce. Sassi (Temminckia, vol. 4, 1939, p. 183)
collected a female at Puerto Jiménez, on the end of the Peninsula de
Osa at the entrance of this body of water. These records mark the
western limit of the race on the Pacific Coast. In Bocas del Toro
(where it had not been reported previously), in 1958 on February 11
I took one on Cayo Roldan, and February 22 recorded five (two
collected) on Isla Pastores, both localities being in the southern part
of Bahia Almirante. At the eastern end of the Republic they were
common near Jaqué in March and April, 1946. On the Caribbean
slope in the Comarca de San Blas this form is recorded at Mandinga,
Bahia Caledonia, and Puerto Obaldia.
They are most common at the borders of woodland, and in brushy
pastures, ranging also at the inner margins of mangrove swamps,
and through the open gallery forest over inland hills. They are not
seen in the denser stands where shade is heavy, but here may range
in small number over the open surface of the high tree crown. This
latter habitat was common for them in the extensive forests of Isla
428 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Coiba, along the streams back of Chiman and Majé in eastern
Province of Panama, and also along the Rio Indio in western Colon,
and the Caribbean slope of northern Coclé.
The usual call is a high-pitched whee-ee-ee, a sound with little
carrying power, though in the dawn-song this may become faster,
louder, and somewhat more prolonged. They take wing quickly to
seize passing insects, and also move about in search of such food.
On Isla Coiba I saw one fly out at a passing butterfly, possibly in play
as the insect was not seized. They also feed extensively on berries,
being regular visitors to feeding trees. Though usually not wary,
they may remain unseen except to a keen eye, as they are quiet in
movement. On one occasion on Isla Taboga where they were common,
in careful watching I located eight perched within a radius of 60
meters from where I stood.
The nest is placed in cavities in trees, usually somewhat concealed
so that it is not easily seen. At the La Jagua Gun Club, in the savanna
east of Pacora, Panama, for years a pair has used a box placed for
them on the side of the building. On March 24, 1964, I flushed a
female from another nest site on a beam under the ceiling of the club-
house, and collected the two fresh eggs. The nest material was a
rather bulky mass of rootlets, slender bits of vine, and fragments of
leaves, bound loosely with cobweb, approximately 140 by 120 mm, and
70 mm high. In one side the bird had shaped an open cup with the
cavity 55 mm in diameter and 35 mm deep. The eggs were pale
greenish white, marked heavily and irregularly with dark brown.
One egg, short subelliptical in form, measured 21.6 16.9 mm; the
other, subelliptical, was 23.1 x 16.3 mm. A nest found April 20, 1941,
at Summit, Canal Zone, by Major-General G. Ralph Meyer was
placed in the upper end of a 4-inch metal pipe set at an angle in the
ground. The three eggs rested in a soft hollow of opossum fur and
balsa down, with a length of shed snakeskin beside them. The form,
ground color, and markings are more variable in these three than
usual in eggs of the same set. In one, the shape is slightly long
subelliptical, the ground color somewhat dull cream, with heavy mark-
ings of dark and light reddish brown, varying from tiny dots to ir-
regular blotches. These coalesce in a wreath with irregular outline
on the larger end. The second egg is somewhat elongated oval, with
heavier markings of the colors found in the first. These coalesce to
cover most of the larger end, with irregular, projecting points around
the lower margin. The third is slightly pointed subelliptical, marked
heavily with similar colors, but largely in elongate array parallel to
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 429
the central axis, varying from thin lines to broader, heavier form, and
irregular blotches, coalescing to almost completely cover the smaller
end. The three measure 25.2 x 17.3, 26.0 18.1, and 26.1 x 18.0 mm.
To the west on the Pacific side of central Costa Rica in the low-
lands there is a grayer population, Myiarchus ferox actiosus, de-
scribed by Ridgway. And along the Pacific slope of western Colombia
one that also is grayer than the population of mainland Panama, but
differs from actiosus in being darker, slightly more olive-gray, with
the crown somewhat lighter than the rest of the dorsal surface. This
is the race audens Wetmore, described in 1953 from specimens col-
lected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., at Nuqui on the coast of central Choco.
MYIARCHUS TUBERCULIFER (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny):
Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Cabezota Gorranegra
Tyrannus tuberculifer Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny, Syn. Av., Mag. Zool., vol. 7,
cl. 2, 1837, p. 43. (Guarayos, Bolivia.)
Smaller than other species of the Crested Flycatchers (Myiarchus)
found in Panama; crown dull black; back greenish olive; anterior
under surface light gray; lower breast and abdomen yellow.
Description—Length 150-165 mm. Crown sooty brown to black ;
rest of upper surface olive to greenish olive, with upper tail coverts
browner ; tail dark grayish brown, with outer webs edged with rufous
(in subspecies bangsi) or only slightly paler than central area (in
subspecies brunneiceps) ; wings dusky ; greater to lesser wing coverts
edged with dull buffy brown; secondaries edged narrowly with dull
white; inner primaries bordered narrowly with cinnamon-rufous to:
buff; foreneck and breast light gray; rest of under surface light
yellow; axillars and under wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of
wing feathers edged with buff.
James Bond (Twelfth Suppl. Check-1. Birds West Indies, July 12,
1967, p. 4) holds that Myiarchus barbirostris (Swainson) of Ja-
maica, described in 1827, is conspecific with Myiarchus tuberculifer
of 1837, so that the older barbirostris should be used as the species
name for this group of subspecies. Lanyon (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 136, art. 6, 1967, pp. 342-346) from his studies of voice
in these birds considers this not proven. He suggests instead that
barbirostris should be treated as a separate monotypic entity. The
question is one that requires further study for firm decision.
The species here accepted as tuberculifer is widely distributed
from southern Arizona and New Mexico through México, Central
America and South America to Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina.
430 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Numerous geographic races are recognized, based mainly on color,
and to a lesser degree on pattern of markings. While the forms
recognized may appear reasonably distinct in the central areas of
their ranges, they merge in approach to one another where individual
specimens may be of uncertain relationship. Two reasonably distinct
races are found in mainland Panama.
The inclusion by Nelson (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 17,
1904, p. 49) of “San Miguel Island,’ Archipiélago de las Perlas, in
the distribution in Panama under the name Myiarchus nigriceps
was through error. The specimens that he had on loan from the
Museum of Comparative Zoology were collected by W. W. Brown,
Jr., at an Indian village called San Miguel on the northern slope of
the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, not “San Miguel,”
Isla del Rey, in the Gulf of Panama, which Brown visited later.
Though widely distributed as a species, and often fairly common
over a vast area in tropical America, little is known of nesting in
the tropical forms. Belcher (Ibis, 1937, p. 236) in Trinidad, June 15,
1932, found a nest placed in a hole in a stump less than 5 meters
from the ground. The cavity, padded with “dried weed-stems and
moss, and lined with thin black horsehair-like fibres strongly woven
together” held three fresh eggs. In these the buff ground color was
“almost obliterated with blotches, longitudinal streaks, and tangled
lines of dark purplish-brown, paler brown, and lavender-grey, most
pronounced at the larger end.” They measured 23.5 x 17.5, 23.8 x 18,
and 2418.2 mm. On April 17, 1933, he collected another set of
three eggs from the same hole, similar to the first except that one egg
was somewhat paler. These measured 23.5 17.3, 24.0 18.0 and
23.0X 17.5 mm. Birds from this island currently are assigned to the
nominate subspecies V7. t. tuberculifer.
Alexander Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, p. 398) records
three nests from the lowlands of Honduras and Guatemala, two
placed in hollows formed by decay in fence posts and the third in a
deep hole in the broken top of a leaning tree trunk. The cavities in
all held nests of soft vegetable materials, hair and feathers, and in
one a fragment of snake skin. Two nests held four eggs, the other,
three nestlings. The eggs were “dull white, heavily blotched and
speckled with chocolate, especially in a wreath around the thick end.
On the rest of the surface the markings tended to take the form of
irregular longitudinal streaks, but on one egg dots rather than streaks
were present.” Range in size varied from 19.1x14.3 to 20.6x
15.5 mm. In the area concerned these flycatchers currently are
called AZ. t. connectens.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 431
In Panama these flycatchers inhabit tree cover at the borders of
fields and pastures, the inner margins of mangrove swamps, and
scattered open growth. They penetrate heavily forested areas mainly
along the open courses of larger streams. They may remain in areas
of shifting agriculture, in the quickly established second growth that
fills cleared areas used temporarily for plantations.
They range alone, or in the nesting season in pairs, though often
in sufficient abundance so that they are encountered widespread in
such haunts.
The call, as I have heard it in Panama, is not loud, but rather high-
pitched, uttered slowly, represented in my field notes as whee-ee-ee,
a sound uttered by both sexes usually without especial emphasis. In
early morning and evening the notes may be repeated steadily for
several minutes as the form of song usual to other species in this
family. They are quiet birds that rest on slightly elevated perches,
often sheltered partly by leaves so that their presence may be known
only casually from their low calls. While occasionally belligerent,
they are not as violently so as some related species of the family. Their
food is largely insects, taken in the air or picked from leaves and
twigs as they move about. They also come regularly in company
with other forest birds to eat the berries found in feeding trees.
MYIARCHUS TUBERCULIFER BANGSI Nelson
Myiarchus lawrencei bangsi Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 17,
March 10, 1904, p. 45. (Boquete, Chiriqui. )
Characters—Crown somewhat dull black; back darker ; primaries,
and in some the outer tail feathers, edged with cinnamon-buff to
cinnamon-rufous.
A female, taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 11, 1966,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-brown ;
base of mandible light wood brown; tarsus and toes fuscous-black ;
claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro),
wing 76.0-82.6 (79.2), tail 69.2-78.3 (72.3), culmen from base
18.6-21.4 (20.3), tarsus 19.1-20.1 (19.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro), wing 73.2-78.7
(75.2), tail 66.3-70.7 (68.6), culmen from base 18.6-20.9 (19.8),
tarsus 18.3-19.7 (19.0) mm.
Resident. Locally common and widely distributed on the Pacific
slope in Chiriqui and Veraguas, including the western side and the
southeastern tip of the Azuero Peninsula; on the Caribbean slope
432 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART s
in western Bocas del Toro; to 1800 meters on Volcan Bart near
Cerro Punta and Boquete.
The larger series of specimens now available allows better under-
standing of the races represented in the Republic. The darker sub-
species, nigricapillus, of adjacent Costa Rica intergrades along the
western boundary with the present form bangsi, with the mixed
population represented by birds from the Burica Peninsula, near
Sereno in the highlands, and from Almirante in Bocas del Toro,
variable in markings but related as a whole to the subspecies bangsi.
There is one in the Havemeyer collection in the Peabody Museum
at Yale from Sibube on the Rio Sixaola at the Costa Rican boundary.
The area concerned is too narrow and the population too varied to
warrant inclusion of migricapillus as a separate entity. Those of the
Boquete area, the type locality of bangsi, though assigned by Blake
(Fieldiana : Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 538) to nigricapillus are recognized
here as bangsi.
In earlier studies, Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 7, 1937, pp. 103-104), with limited comparative material,
assigned specimens that he had collected on the western side of the
Azuero Peninsula to the eastern race brunneiceps. The series now
at hand demonstrates that those of eastern Veraguas instead should
be placed under bangsi. At the lower end of the Azuero Peninsula
in 1957 I collected one, March 13, on the Rio Caldera below Pedasi,
and March 18 one (of two seen) on the Rio Oria near Los Asientos,
both in southern Los Santos. I did not find this bird in the open
country in northern Los Santos and Herrera on the eastern side of
the Peninsula, nor in southern Coclé beyond.
MYIARCHUS TUBERCULIFER BRUNNEICEPS Lawrence
Myiarchus brunneiceps Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
May 27, 1861, p. 327. (Atlantic slope, Panama Railroad, Lion Hill Station,
Canal Zone, Panama. )
Characters —Crown sooty brown; back, scapulars, and rump paler,
more greenish olive; primary edgings paler, buffy white.
A male, collected at Puerto Obaldia, San Blas, February 16, 1963,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; mandible fuscous-black,
tarsus, toes and claws black; tongue dull orange; rest of inside of
mouth and gape pale greenish yellow.
Measurements—Males (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama,
Darién and San Blas), wing 74.3-80.0 (76.7), tail 66.2-73.0 (69.7),
culmen from base 19.2-21.6 (20.2), tarsus 19.0-19.6 (19.2) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 433
Females (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama, Canal Zone, eastern
Colon, Darién, and San Blas), wing 73.3-76.1 (74.5), tail 65.6-71.4
(67.7), culmen from base 18.1-20.3 (19.1), tarsus 18.6-19.9
(19.1) mm.
Resident. Common and widely distributed through the Tropical
Zone, on the Pacific slope from the western sector of the Province of
Panama east through Darién; on the Caribbean side from the valley
of the Rio Indio in the western sector of the Province of Colon and
northern Coclé east through the Canal Zone and the Comarca de
San Blas to the Colombian boundary; to above 900 meters on Cerro
Campana, 875 meters on Cerro Azul, 600 meters on the base of Cerro
Tacarcuna and above Cana on Cerro Pirre.
Nesting appears to begin in March and April. On April 9, 1946,
at Jaqué, Darién I found a pair in breeding condition. The following
year, farther inland on the upper Rio Jaqué in the same week, one at
our camp gathered stray feathers for nest lining. March 9, 1950, on
Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama, one carried nesting
material. At the old village site on the upper Rio Tacarcuna, March
17, 1964, one gathered feathers from the playon in front of our
camp and carried them to a tree cavity 10 meters above the ground.
On March 21 following, at El Real, Darién, one brought nest material
to a hole ina stub.
Stomachs of this race that I have examined have contained frag-
ments of cicadas, several kinds of hemiptera, bits of an adult lepidop-
teron, ants and other hymenoptera, mixed usually with seeds from
small berries.
As already stated, while not overly belligerent as a rule, once in
eastern Darién I found several in high open tree tops being violently
antagonistic to the many migrant Bay-breasted Warblers that moved
with wings and tails flitting through the trees. Whenever these
warblers appeared, the flycatchers drove at them, but in contrast paid
no attention to numerous small native birds resting quietly near them
in the same trees.
SIRYSTES SIBILATOR ALBOGRISEUS (Lawrence): Sirystes,
Papamoscas Copetén
FicureE 39
Lipaugus albogriseus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, May
1866, p. 9. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama. )
Medium size; black crown, wings and tail; rump and under surface
grayish white.
434 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description —Length 175-185 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
rather dull black; forehead, lores, and side of head slate-gray ; hind-
neck, back, and scapulars light gray, with a slight yellowish cast;
upper back with slightly indicated dusky shaft lines; rump white;
upper tail coverts dark gray, edged with grayish white; tail dusky,
tipped lightly with grayish white; wings dusky black, coverts and
secondaries broadly edged with white; foreneck and upper breast
pale grayish white; rest of under surface, including axillars, under
Ficure 39,—Sirystes, papamoscas copeton, Sirystes sibilator albogriseus, male.
wing coverts, and basal inner webs of primaries and secondaries,
white.
Immature, gray and white, faintly buffy throughout.
An adult female, taken at the Peluca Hydrographic Station on the
Rio Boqueron, had the iris dark brown; tip of bill dull black; base of
maxilla fuscous, that of mandible dull brownish white; tarsus and
toes dark neutral gray; claws black; inside of mouth, including
tongue, orange.
Measurements.—Males (10 from eastern Province of Panama and
Darién), wing 97.7-103.8 (101.4), tail 81.3-85.0 (83.2), culmen
from base 18.9-21.3 (19.7), tarsus 18.1-19.7 (18.8) mm.
Females (10 from Colon, eastern Province of Panama, and
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 435
Darién), wing 93.2-98.7 (95.8), tail 75.4-80.4 (78.1), culmen from
base 18.1-21.0 (19.7), tarsus 17.8-19.3 (18.6) mm.
Resident. Uncommon. Recorded on the Pacific slope from western
Veraguas (Sona), Cerro Azul, and Chepo east through Chiman and
the Rio Majé to eastern Darién, to 900 meters on Cerro Pirre; on
the Caribbean side from the northern Canal Zone, near Pifia, Gamboa,
and the lower Chagres Valley, through eastern Provinces of Panama
and Colon, and San Blas to the Colombian boundary.
This forest species was little known until recent years, as Griscom
in his list of 1935 reported only six specimens. It was described by
Lawrence from one taken by McLeannan, supposed to have come
from Lion Hill. Salvin received two (now in the British Museum),
collected by Arcé in Veraguas, but without definite locality. One in
the National Museum collection, taken by Heyde and Lux, April 19,
1888, is labeled Sona, Veraguas. Other early specimens in the Have-
meyer collection at Yale came from Austin Smith at San Antonio
on the lower Rio Bayano, March 19 and 24, 1927. On March 23,
1949, I collected one in Bajo Grande on the headwaters of the Rio
Pacora in the Cerro Azul, and during April recorded several near
Chepo. Near Chiman and on the upper Rio Maje in February and
March 1950 a number were recorded. Later I found them locally
in the Tuira-Chucunaque Valley, and on the lower slopes of Cerro
Tacarcuna. Other observations of the species were at Jaqué, and on
the lower Rio Jaqué in eastern Darién. On the Caribbean side, J. R.
Karr has found them rather regularly back of Gamboa, where they
have been recorded also by Eisenmann. R. S. Ridgely reported them
at Rio Piedras, Colon, in January 1968. West of the Canal, Dennis
Sheets recorded Sirystes below Gatun Dam, toward Pifia. In the
lower Chagres Valley, March 1957, I found half a dozen on the ridge
above the Rio Boqueron near the old manganese mine, and in Febru-
ary 1961 took one above the Peluca Hydrographic Station back of
Madden Lake. Wedel collected two in eastern San Blas, one at
Ranchon (now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology) and one at
Puerto Obaldia (in the University of Cincinnati Museum).
They range in the tops of the tallest trees where, unless they are
calling, they may not be noticed. In February and March I saw them
occasionally near the ground in clearings, moving about in a spirited
manner with raised crests, apparently seeking nesting materials. At
our camp at the old Tacarcuna village site on the head of Rio
Tacarcuna, Darién, one in such search, came under the thatched roof
of our open rancho, where it saw several birds lying on the skinning
430 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
table and scolded at them, an attention that it transferred to me a
little later as I bathed in the stream.
Their calls are high whistled notes, repeated rapidly, varied occa-
sionally to noisy, chattering sounds. Though different in cadence, in
high-pitched, rapid utterance they suggest the call of the Yellow-
rumped Attila, a species that they resemble also in mannerisms and
habitat. The feather coat on the body is unusually dense. I have
noted also that the oil gland appears rudimentary, so small, in fact,
that it is found only on close search.
I have seen no account of the nest and eggs. As the birds were
noted occasionally examining cavities in tree trunks, they may nest in
holes.
Stomachs examined held insect remains—a caterpillar, membracids,
beetles of several kinds, bits of moths and hymenoptera, and seeds,
apparently from a berry.
ATTILA SPADICEUS (Gmelin): Bright-rumped Attila,
Pajaro Gritén
Figure 40
Muscicapa spadicea Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 937. (Cayenne. )
Medium size; brown or dull green above, with buff or yellow rump ;
breast streaked.
Description.—Length 170-185 mm. Head with a slight crest;
rictal bristles prominent. Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck
dull grayish green or olive-green, streaked with dusky, the amount
varying from heavy to nearly plain; in some mixed with grayish white
on forehead; back, scapulars, and lesser wing coverts reddish brown
to brownish or dull grayish green; rump and upper tail coverts from
light cinnamon-buff to yellow, usually more ochraceous on the upper
rump; wings and primary coverts dusky to dull black, secondaries
and inner primaries edged with dull reddish brown; middle and
greater coverts dull black, edged with dull cinnamon to buffy brown;
tail dull grayish brown to brownish olive, more or less cinnamomeus
basally ; rictal bristles black; lores, and usually the anterior feathers
of the forehead, dull white to grayish white ; lower eyelid lined nar-
rowly with white; side of head dark like the crown, lined indistinctly
with dull white and dusky; chin yellowish to grayish white; foreneck,
breast, and sides grayish to yellowish, streaked heavily with dull
gray, with shaft lines dusky; flanks yellowish to buff or cinnamon-
buff; under tail coverts buff; axillars and under wing coverts cin-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 437
namon-buff to pale yellowish white ; inner edge of wing feathers white
to buff.
These birds are tree dwellers found widely through the Tropical
Zone, ranging less commonly over the lower subtropical mountain
slopes. While primarily found hidden in the tree crown, they come
regularly lower down, and then may be seen. They are frequent in
the trees along streams, and as the species seems adaptable may be
found in second growth, and also along lines of trees bordering
marshlands or streams that cross open country, like those that
meander through the savanna lands on the Pacific slope. Their
Ficure 40.—Bright-rumped attila, pajaro griton, Attila spadiceus.
presence is known most often by their strongly accented, steadily
repeated calls, sounds that carry for some distance. Country in-
habitants familiar with them recognize them as the pdjaro gritén
from these notes, though to many the bird remains merely a voice.
Dr. Frank M. Chapman, on Barro Colorado Island, wrote these notes
appropriately as “‘beat-it, beat-it, no-o-w,” uttered slowly, with
each syllable strongly accented. Both male and female call, though it
has been my impression that the male is the more vociferous. Often
the birds are silent for long periods, when their presence may remain
unknown. Or, one may repeat the notes once or twice and then re-
main silent, without movement, hidden in its cover of leaves. When
by chance the bird is seen, usually it is resting quietly on its perch.
438 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
In the early morning they may come to drink at the border of shaded
stream banks or at small forest pools.
The species is widely distributed throughout much of tropical
America from western and southern México through Central America
and in South America to Pertt and southeastern Brazil. In much
of this area it is fairly common, so that numerous specimens are
found in large museum collections. Two subspecies occur in Panama,
one in the east and one in the west. While Attila spadiceus has been
placed in the Cotingidae, studies of the syrinx by Peter Ames (Pea-
body Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 37, 1971, pp. 37, 39, 160-161) and of
the skull (not yet published) by Stuart L. Warter, indicate that the
genus should be transferred to the New World Flycatcher family,
the Tyrannidae, where the relationship seems nearest to the genus
Myiarchus.
Individual variation in color is considerable, so that a specimen
assigned from its locality to one form may tend toward the coloration
of another. Brown-backed birds, for example, are found regularly
in the general area of the race sclateri (which normally is green),
but in series the two races may be separated. They give the impres-
sion of forms in which the differences marking the groups are not
yet wholly stabilized.
ATTILA SPADICEUS CITREOPYGA (Bonaparte)
Dasycephala citreopyga Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. (Paris), vol. 38,
1854 (not earlier than April 3), p. 657. (Nicaragua. )
Characters—Darker ; more reddish brown on back; crown more
heavily streaked with black; rump and upper tail coverts darker,
more deeply buff ; slightly larger.
A male, collected on Isla Parida, Golfo de Chiriqui, February 5,
1963, had the iris auburn; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous ; base
of mandible dull neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral
gray. Another, taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 7, 1966,
had the iris bright reddish brown; base of mandible, basal two-thirds
of cutting edge of maxilla, and extreme tip of maxilla and mandible
dull brownish neutral gray: rest of bill fuscous-black; tarsus, toes
and claws dark bluish neutral gray; under side of toe pads very dull
honey yellow.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and
Veraguas), wing 88.0-91.8 (90.0), tail 69.7-74.0 (71.8), culmen
from base 24.0-27.5 (25.6), tarsus 24.0-25.6 (24.9) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos, Bocas del Toro,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 439
and Costa Rica), wing 82.3-86.7 (84.2), tail 62.2-68.5 (65.2), cul-
men from base 22.8-25.7 (24.6), tarsus 23.6-25.7 (24.7) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common on both Pacific and Caribbean
slopes in the Tropical Zone, less commonly in the Subtropical Zone
to 1250 meters, rarely to 1650 meters, from near the Costa Rican
boundary in Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro east to Veraguas (Santa Fé
and the Calovévora area), and both western and eastern sides of the
Azuero Peninsula; Isla Coiba; Isla Parida, Golfo de Chiriqui.
The only Attila seen from Isla Coiba, a male taken January 22,
1956, is definitely greenish on the back, but has the crown heavily
streaked and is large in size (wing 91.8 mm). One from Isla Parida,
to the west in the Golfo de Chiriqui, also large (wing 92.5 mm), is
slightly intermediate but is almost like the mainland bird. On the
basis of this limited material both are assigned to the race citreopyga.
A female taken near El Volcan, February 27, 1965, had a fully
formed egg in the oviduct (broken so that it could not be saved). The
markings resembled those of the eggs described beyond under A. s.
sclateri.
In an account of this subspecies in Costa Rica, Skutch (Ibis, 1971,
pp. 316-322) recorded it as ‘‘one of the rarer followers of army ants.”
One came down from the high tree tops to perches 5 or 6 meters from
the ground above the moving ant swarm. From such vantage points
it swooped down to seize flying insects flushed by the ants or crawling
on the tree trunks. A nest with four young was found in the Carib-
bean lowlands on April 12, 1967, hidden behind the base of a sapling
growing from the buttressed base of a tall tree. The following year,
on March 13, a new nest on the same site held four eggs “‘pale pinkish
buff to dull white, heavily marked, especially on the thicker end, with
large and small spots of bright cinnamon-rufous, brown of varying
shades, and pale lilac.” These eggs measured 23.0 x 18.9, 22.6 x 18.4,
23.2 x 18.7, and 23.0 x 18.6 mm. Incubation was by the female alone,
but the young later were fed by both parents. The food included
many small lizards and frogs, with a few insects.
ATTILA SPADICEUS SCLATERI Lawrence
Attila Sclateri Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862, p. 470.
(Lion Hill, Panama Railroad, Atlantic Slope, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters—On average, more greenish, less brown on_ back;
crown somewhat less heavily streaked; rump and upper tail coverts
more yellow ; size slightly smaller. (Occasional reddish brown, darker
birds may be immature individuals in first postjuvenal plumage.)
440 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
In a female, from Juan Mina, Canal Zone, collected January 14,
1961, the iris was light brown; band across mandible anterior to
gonys brownish buff; rest of bill dusky neutral gray; gape dull buff;
tarsus and toes neutral gray ; claws fuscous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Canal Zone, Colén, Province of
Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 84.6-89.9 (87.7), tail 65.5—
71.5 (66.4), culmen from base 22.4-26.1 (24.5), tarsus 23.7-25.7
(24.5) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 81.0-84.0 (82.4), tail 61.0-64.6 (62.8), culmen
from base 22.5-26.2 (24.0), tarsus 23.1-25.4 (24.1) mm.
Weight, 3, 32 grams (G. V. N. Powell).
Resident. Fairly common in the Tropical Zone from Coclé (El
Valle, El Uracillo), western Colon (Rio Indio), Cerro Campana,
and the Canal Zone eastward on both slopes to the Colombian bound-
ary; to the lower Subtropical Zone on Cerro Tacarcuna and Cerro
Pirte.
At Charco del Toro, on the lower Rio Majé, Darién, March 20,
1950, one flushed from a nest placed at the bottom of a narrow space
in a fork between two sections of a large tree that stood on the bank
of the river, the nest site a little over 2 meters above the ground.
The bird came off beside my head and dropped almost to the ground,
so that as it flew away I had clear view of it. The nest, a fairly deep
cup of dark rootlets, held three beautifully marked eggs, far advanced
in incubation. The two preserved are pinkish buff, marked heavily
with rather large, irregular spots of chocolate, mixed with cinnamon-
buff and lilac, mainly in a wreath around the large end but with a few
rather small in size scattered elsewhere. In form slightly pointed
subelliptical, they measure 26.020.0 and 27.8x20.0 mm. The
embryos had long down on head, dorsal, and crural tracts.
The pajaro griton comes regularly with other birds to eat the
drupes of feeding trees. It also picks up many insects in gleaning
over branches and leaves, but I did not observe it capturing insects
on the wing. The well-filled stomach of one taken by Goldman, at
Portobelo, Colon, held two drupes of a species of Lauraceae, bits of a
cicada, two earwigs, and parts of a small lizard. A few bits of small
beetles also included may have come from the stomach of the lizard.
Lawrence indicated that his type, collected by McLeannan and
Galbraith during the winter of 1860-1861, came from the Atlantic
slope near the line of the railroad. Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer.,
pt. 6, 1929, p. 136) restricted the type locality to Lion Hill, which
was McLeannan’s station.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 441
This race ranges beyond Panama into northern Choco, Colombia,
where Carriker collected it at Unguia and Acandi. Near the center
of the western coast of Choco, it is replaced by the race parambae,
which is dark green on the dorsal surface, with the rump and upper
tail coverts yellow.
LANIOCERA RUFESCENS RUFESCENS (Sclater):
Speckled Mourner, Bobo
Ficure 41
Lipaugus rufescens P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 25, 1857
(January 28, 1858), p. 276. (Coban, Guatemala. )
Medium size; wholly brown, darker above; indistinctly barred on
under surface; a partly concealed yellow spot on the sides; wing
coverts spotted irregularly with dusky.
Description—Length 190-210 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface dull cinnamon-rufous; crown feathers edged narrowly with
dark gray; wing coverts dusky, tipped widely with cinnamon-rufous ;
rump and upper tail coverts barred narrowly and indistinctly with
dusky ; primaries and secondaries dusky, edged on outer and inner
webs with cinnamon-rufous; tail russet; under surface tawny-
ochraceous to cinnamon-rufous; throat paler; upper breast and sides
barred indistinctly with grayish brown; a few feathers at center of
sides lemon yellow, producing a partly concealed spot; under wing
coverts and axillars cinnamon-rufous.
Immature, darker, grayer on crown, lower back and rump; center
of foreneck and sides of neck dull gray, with the throat feathers
basally cinnamon-brown; a few of the breast feathers tipped with
black, producing distinct round spots; lower surface from lower fore-
neck to the sides of the abdomen banded more distinctly with dull
gray.
A male collected near the Peluca Hydrographic Station, on the
Colon side of the Rio Boqueron, February 27, 1961, had the
iris dark mouse brown; cutting edge of maxilla below nostril and
of the mandible for its posterior half, and the gape dull honey yellow ;
mandibular rami and base of gonys pale brownish white; rest of bill
black; upper half of tarsus dull mouse brown, shading to brownish
neutral gray on the lower half and toes; claws dark neutral gray.
Another male, taken at Cafiita, eastern Province of Panama, Febru-
ary 6, 1962, had the iris dark wood brown; maxilla and tip of mandi-
ble fuscous-black; base of mandible grayish brown; tarsus and toes
neutral gray; claws dark neutral gray. In this bird, and in two other
442 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
males collected on a high ridge above the Rio Boqueron, Colon,
March 3, 1957, the bare skin of the eyelids was yellow.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Colon, Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 111.4-116.7 (113.4), tail 78.3-88.5 (82.4), culmen
from base 18.0-20.0 (19.2), tarsus 19.1-20.9 (20.3) mm.
Females (10 from Nicaragua, Canal Zone, and Darién), wing
112.6-118.2 (113.9), tail 78.2-86.0 (82.4, average of 9), culmen from
base 18.0-21.8 (19.9) tarsus 20.0-22.5 (21.6) mm.
Resident. Uncommon in Tropical Zone forests from the lower
Chagres Valley, the Canal Zone, and Cerro Azul east through eastern
Ficure 41.—Speckled mourner, bobo, Laniocera rufescens rufescens.
Province of Panama, Darién, eastern Province of Colon, and San
Blas ; to lower Subtropical Zone at 1400 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna,
and 1060 meters on Cerro Pirre.
Published records for Veraguas are doubtfully valid. Sclater and
Salvin (Exotic Ornith., pt. 1, 1866, p. 5) mention one “obtained near
Santiago de Veraguas in that province by Enrique Arcé in 1865. . . .
Arcé met with this same bird during his excursion to Chepo . . . in
1864. Female taken.” Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867, p. 149)
listed the species from these same collections as “Santa Fe.” Salvin
and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1891, p. 131) give
the same records as from “Santa Fe (Arcé)” and “Chepo (Arcé).”
Two specimens in the British Museum (Natural History) are listed
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 443
by Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 14, 1888, p. 356) as “ff ad.
sk. Santa Fé, Veragua (Arcé). Salvin-Godman Coll.” and “Q ad.
sk. Chepo, Isthm. of Panama (Arcé). Sclater Coll.’’ There is ob-
vious confusion over the early Veraguas records. It seems pos-
sible that Arcé collected the birds at Chepo and that inadvertently
one may have been confused with later collections from Veraguas.
As these birds live mainly in heavy forest they may be more com-
mon than is indicated by the few that are seen in days afield in their
range. While they may perch on small branches where they have an
open view, also they may choose shaded perches where they rest
quietly, almost like trogons. Their dull colors and rather small size
serve as camouflage in their shaded haunts. Rarely, one has ap-
proached as I have decoyed birds by squeaking calls, but after a
quick look they usually retreat to a distance. However, when feeding
they may move actively through the branches. The whistled call, a
sibilant double note, not explosive in utterance, and with little carry-
ing power, is one that is not often heard. The flight is direct like
that of the larger thrushes. Food seems to be varied as the stomach
of one taken near El Real was filled with berries. Another, collected
by Goldman at Cana on Cerro Pirre, had eaten small caterpillars and
the pupal case of a lepidopteran.
I have seen no report of the nest and eggs. Ridgway (U.S. Nat.
Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, pp. 763-764) placed this species with the
Manakins, family Pipridae, because of the form of the foot in which
the tarsus is exaspidean, and there is extensive union of the basal
joints in the anterior toes, the middle toe with the first and second
joints wholly adherent to the outer toe, and the first joined for most
of its length to the inner toe.
The current name in English, “speckled mourner,”’ is a misnomer
as the spots on the breast are found only in the immature bird, and
usually are few in number. They are called bobo in Colombia.
In northwestern Colombia from northern Choco and Antioquia to
the middle Magdalena Valley the population of this species is some-
what darker, duller cinnamon and rufous-brown, with the central
foreneck and upper breast gray. These birds also average slightly
smaller. Apparently in adult stage they retain the gray shade of the
upper foreneck found in the immature L. r. rufescens. This Colom-
bian group has been separated as Laniocera rufescens griseigula by
de Schauensee (Not. Naturae, no. 221, February 24, 1950, p. 11)
with Quimari, north of Monteria, Department of Cordoba, as type
locality. Birds from Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna in eastern
444 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Panama are slightly intermediate in darker colors and a wash of gray
on the throat toward this race.
RHYTIPTERNA HOLERYTHRA HOLERYTHRA (Sclater and
Salvin): Rufous Mourner, Plafiidera Acanelada
Lipaugus holerytherus Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 28,
August 1860, p. 300. (Choctum, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.)
Medium size; warm brown, darker above, paler below.
Description—Length 180-190 mm. Posterior face of upper end
of tarsus serrate; rictal and frontal bristles prominent, strongly de-
veloped. Adult (sexes alike), upper surface cinnamon-brown to
russet; primaries and secondaries darker brown, edged with cin-
namon-rufous; tail centrally darker, with the outer feathers cinna-
mon-rufous ; under surface including axillars and under wing coverts
tawny-ochraceous, darker on the breast, paler on throat and abdomen.
Juvenile, similar, but brighter, more rufous above, paler, more
cinnamon-buff on under surface.
A female, taken at the head of Rio Guabal, Coclé, March 1, 1962,
had the iris light brown; base of maxilla fuscous-brown; distal end
of maxilla and tip of mandible dull black; base of mandible dull
brownish white; tarsus neutral gray; toes and claws dark neutral
gray. Another female, from Cerro Mali, Darién, had the iris warm
brown; maxilla at base fuscous-brown, shading to black at tip; tip of
mandible black ; cutting edge of maxilla at base, and rest of mandible,
dull horn color; back of tarsus dull black; front and toes dusky
neutral gray; claws black; gape dull honey yellow; inside of mouth
orange.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Cocle,
Province of Panama, and Darién), wing 103.4-105.9 (104.3), tail
86.8-94.0 (90.6), culmen from base 20.5-23.1 (21.8), tarsus 22.4—
23.8 (23.2) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Coclé, Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 97.0-101.8 (100.0), tail 84.5-90.6 (86.9), culmen
from base 20.4-22.9 (21.4), tarsus 21.5-22.7 (22.3) mm.
Resident. Fairly common locally in forest through the Tropical
Zone and lower Subtropical Zone on the Pacific slope from the Costa
Rican boundary in Chiriqui to Veraguas; and from Cerro Campana
and Cerro Azul, Province of Panama, through Darién; on the
Caribbean side from western Bocas del Toro east to the northern
Canal Zone and the valley of the Rio Chagres; to 1375 meters west
of El Volcan and 1425 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 445
As this is a forest inhabitant, in western Panama it seems to have
been reduced in number with the clearing that has come with increase
in human population. In Chiriqui, Mrs. M. E. Davidson collected
two at Puerto Armuelles November 19 and 24, 1929, but I did not
find it between January and March 1966. Specimens in the Museum
of Comparative Zoology were taken by W. W. Brown, Jr., near
Boquete in 1901, and by H. J. Watson at El] Banco in 1903, but the
species is not listed by Blake in the collection assembled by Monniche
in that area from 1932 to 1952. In Veraguas, Arcé one hundred
years ago sent specimens to Salvin from Santa Fé and Chitra. It is
not recorded from the Azuero Peninsula. I collected one at 450
meters on the south face of Cerro Campana, western Province of
Panama, March 7, 1957. From Cerro Azul east through Darién it is
fairly common. On the Caribbean side it is found in Bocas del
Toro, northern Coclé, the northern Canal Zone, and the lower
Chagres Valley. A male in the Field Museum was taken at Puerto
Obaldia, Comarca de San Blas, April 21, 1931, by H. von Wedel.
Rufous Mourners are seen mainly on open branches below the
high tree crown. At times they have exhibited some curiosity when I
have been calling other birds. I have noted them also as they fed ac-
tively at berries in forest trees with other birds. In this they fly out
and hover as they seize the drupes on the wing. Occasionally, I have
seen as many as three in company, when they may give low, whistled
calls, but usually they have been alone and silent. It is certain that
concealed in heavy leaf cover they have regularly escaped attention.
A pair collected March 3, 1959, where the Rio Paya enters the Rio
Tuira in Darién were near breeding. I have no report of the nest and
eggs.
In examination of stomachs I have identified seeds of berries
(Melastomaceae), and a variety of insect remains. Among these
orthoptera, cicadas, and membracids have been common, with numer-
ous remains of caterpillars, ants, and a variety of beetles, with oc-
casional bits of spiders.
The roughened surface on the posterior face of the upper end of
the tarsus at first glance seems to suggest the heel pads found in
some nestlings, but on examination the condition differs in that it is
absent in young, immature individuals, and only becomes slightly
evident as the birds become older, reaching its maximum in full adults.
From examination of a series of skins, though it is present and
evident in females, it attains its major development in males. In its
final form the roughened scutes appear also above the joint on the
446 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
back and side of the lower expanded end of the tibiotarsus. On the
upper end of the tarsus there are several roughened scutes in which, in
ascending order, the lower edge of the projection becomes steadily
larger. In its greatest development the projections become sharply
tipped spurs of conical form on both tarsus and tibiotarsus. The
illustration of the foot of this species in Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus.
Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, pl. 30) shows the extent of the scalation above
the joint, but not the maximum development in which the upper
scales project as points.
The condition is found in the races of the present species, and
in the two others, Rhytipterna simplex and R. immunda placed with
it in the genus.
Rhytipterna h. holerythra ranges through Central America from
eastern Guatemala southward. Beyond Panama it continues in
northern Colombia from extreme northern Chocd (Acandi) east to
the middle Magdalena Valley. ‘The somewhat darker subspecies
R. h. rosenbergi is found on the Pacific slope from Central Chocdé
(Nuqui) southward to northwestern Ecuador.
LIPAUGUS UNIRUFUS UNIRUFUS Sclater: Rufous Piha,
Minero Acanelado
Lipaugus unirufus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1859 (February
1860) p. 385. (Playa Vicente, Oaxaca, México. )
Lathria umrufa clara Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19, Sep-
tember 6, 1906, p. 120. (Line of the Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Medium size; cinnamon-brown to russet, without other distinctive
markings.
Description —Length 220-240 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
cinnamon-brown, with shaft lines faintly paler; back, scapulars, and
rump duller, upper tail coverts slightly paler, brighter; wings dusky-
brown with the outer webs rufous-brown; tail rufous-brown; under
surface cinnamon-brown, somewhat paler on the throat; a bushy tuft
of pale buff feathers at either side of the center of the abdomen, con-
cealed by longer overlying feathers; under wing coverts, axillars, and
edge of wing pale rufous.
A female, taken at the head of the Rio Guabal, Coclé, February 27,
1962, had the iris dark brown; maxilla dusky neutral gray, with the
area below the nostrils dull buffy brown; tip of mandible neutral gray,
base dull buffy brown; tarsus and toes dark gray with a slight greenish
cast. Another from Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 8, 1966, had
the iris dark brown; cutting edge of maxilla and basal half of
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 447
mandible light grayish brown; rest of bill fuscous-brown; tarsus and
toes slaty brown, with the scutes outlined by light gray; claws slate
at base, dull brown at point.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, Province
of Panama, and Darién), wing 125.0-132.9 (128.8), tail 95.6-103.9
(100.8), culmen from base 21.0-24.6 (22.7), tarsus 20.0-22.5
621.1) mm:
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Coclé, Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 121.6-128.0 (124.4), tail 93.8-104.2 (98.0), culmen
from base 22.3-24.4 (23.3), tarsus 20.4-22.4 (21.2) mm.
Resident. Locally common, in forests in the lower Tropical Zone ;
on the Pacific slope from western Chiriqui eastward through Darién,
except the Azuero Peninsula. On the Caribbean side rarely from
Bocas del Toro (one record) to northern Coclé; commonly from the
lower Chagres Valley east through San Blas; to 1200 meters on
@icre\Pirre.
While this species is primarily a forest inhabitant, it does not
seem to range commonly in the more humid areas of rain forest. As
indication of this, it seems to be rare on the Caribbean slope from the
Costa Rican boundary east to northernmost Coclé. The only record
available at present for the lowlands of Bocas del Toro is one prepared
by R. Hinds, taken at Almirante in January 1961. On the Rio Guabal
at the headwaters of the Rio Coclé del Norte I found two and
collected one of them February 27, 1962. In the lower Chagres
Valley, especially in the Canal Zone it is rather common. In San
Blas I recorded it at Mandinga, and eastward it has been found at
Permeé, Armila, and Puerto Obaldia. On the Pacific slope, where it
has been recorded regularly from Cerro Azul eastward, it ranges
fairly high on the slopes of Cerro Pirre, but not on Cerro Tacarcuna.
The few countrymen who know them have called them pdjaro
chocolate.
They live mainly in the cover of leaves in the high tree crown,
their presence known usually by their loud explosive calls, and equally
loud whistled song. It is usual to find two or three together. Occa-
sionally they have been attracted by whistled imitations of their
calls, and then have come down a little from their leafy cover to peer
about. When silent their presence undoubtedly is unsuspected.
The five nests recorded by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 35, 1969,
pp. 67-76) were placed about 5 to 10 meters from the ground on
small branches in forest trees standing in undergrowth. They were
small, almost flat mats of coiled tendrils in locations sheltered from
448 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
wind, built and attended by the female alone. The single egg was
“smoky gray heavily mottled and blotched with deep brown, which
on the thick end nearly masks the ground color.’’ Incubation lasted
25 or 26 days. Young at hatching were covered sparsely with gray
down. Russell (A.O.U. Mon. no. 1, 1964, p. 112) recorded that at
900 meters on Victoria Peak, British Honduras, he flushed one from
its nest. “The two pale brown eggs were in a shallow depression be-
side a sizeable epiphytic bromeliad in a crotch” in a large tree.
They feed on insects taken from leaves and twigs, and also come
to feeding trees to secure the berries.
The considerable variation from light to dark in their brown
coloration led Ridgway, with limited material, to name the bird of
the eastern half of Panama as a race distinct from those of farther
north in Central America. With larger series it now is clear that
nominate Lipaugus unirufus unirufus ranges from southern México
and British Honduras south through the Caribbean slope of Hon-
duras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In southwestern Costa Rica it
crosses also to the Pacific drainage and continues as described above
through Panama. In Colombia it is found from northern Choco
(Unguia, Acandi) east through the Sint, Cauca, and middle Mag-
dalena valleys to northern Santander (north of Bucaramanga).
NUTTALORNIS BOREALIS (Swainson): Olive-sided
Flycatcher, Mosquero Boreal
Tyrannus borealis Swainson, in Swainson and Richardson, Fauna Bor.-Amer.,
vol. 2, 1831 (February 1832), p. 141, pl. 35. (Carlton House, Saskatchewan,
Canada. )
Medium size; heavy body; dusky above, with a white tuft on
either side of rump; sides of breast dark, center area, white.
Description—Length 165-180 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface, including side of head, slaty olive, with the feathers faintly
blacker centrally, especially on crown; wings dull black, with middle
and greater coverts edged with grayish olive, lighter at tips; secon-
daries edged with grayish white; tail dusky, with outer webs bordered
faintly with grayish; a tuft of white or yellowish white feathers on
either side of the rump; a narrow circlet of white feathers around eye;
sides of breast, sides, flanks, and tibia brownish gray, streaked faintly
with olive; chin, center of foreneck, breast, and abdomen white,
tinged faintly with yellow; under tail coverts centrally olive-gray ;
axillars and under wing coverts brownish gray, narrowly edged with
pale gray.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 449
Measurements—Males (10 from United States, Canada, and
Alaska), wing 102.1-114.1 (107.2), tail 63.3-74.4 (69.1), culmen
from base 17.0-18.5 (17.4), tarsus 14.5-15.5 (15.0) mm.
Females (10 from United States, Canada, and Alaska), wing 99.1-
106.0 (102.6), tail 63.0-71.3 (66.3), culmen from base 16.5-17.9
(16.8), tarsus 14.0-15.5 (14.8) mm.
Size in this species is variable, with part of those of the western
half of the continent averaging slightly larger. It was once suggested
that two populations were indicated but with increase in information
the supposed differences proved to be indefinite.
Fairly common passage migrant to and from wintering grounds
in South America, with a few remaining through the period of
winter. Found from sea level to the higher mountains.
They are widely distributed, found singly wherever there are trees,
from mountain forests to the borders of lowland fields and the vicinity
of houses. High perches from which the view is unobstructed are the
usual choice as is their custom in their northern summer homes.
Customarily they are silent, but they may call at times, especially
during the passage northward in spring.
From records assembled from a number of sources, mainly sight
records through Dr. Eisenmann, passage southward comes between
August 29 and November 18, with return from March 9 to May 30.
Most move through September and October, and April and May.
A record at the head of the Rio Guabal in northern Coclé on Febru-
ary 28, 1962, indicates a wintering individual, as does one taken at
El Volcan, February 17, 1960, in which the two outermost primaries
in both wings were in molt. From February 23 to 29, 1964, on Cerro
Mali, Darién, one passed its days in tall trees on a narrow ridge where
a clearing had been cut to allow access by helicopters. At sunset this
bird came lower to dead stubs on the slope adjacent to our camp.
Here, while it. made an occasional sally for insects, it seemed nervous
as it continually twisted the head about and jerked, raised, and
lowered its tail. This nightly performance terminated at dusk when
finally it darted quickly into the leafy tree crown in the high forest
behind our rancho. I wondered if its obvious nervousness was fear
that an owl might await in the cover that it sought for shelter during
sleep.
CONTOPUS LUGUBRIS Lawrence: Dark Pewee, Mosquero .
: Oscuro
Contopus lugubris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, May
1865, p. 134. (Barranca, Costa Rica.)
450 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Medium size; head with a short crest; appearance in life dusky
throughout, except light colored underside of bill, and pale abdomen.
Description—Length 155-170 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface of body dark olivaceous-slate ; crown darker, with the central
shaft lines of the feathers blackish; wings dusky, with the wing
coverts edged indistinctly with grayish brown; secondaries edged
faintly with olive-gray to dull whitish; tail dusky-brown, with the
outer web of the outermost feathers on either side edged narrowly
with dull white, varied in some to olive-gray ; chin dull white; abdo-
men pale dull brown; under tail coverts dull white, streaked centrally
with dull brown; a concealed tuft of white feathers on either flank;
axillars and under wing coverts dull grayish brown; carpal edge of
wing similar, but mottled with white.
Juvenile, upper surface dull brown, darker on the crown; rump and
upper tail coverts edged with dull rufous; tail and wings dusky ; wing
coverts edged widely with dull rufous-brown; foreneck and breast
dull brownish gray ; abdomen and under tail coverts dull buffy white.
A male taken at Cerro Punta, Chiriqui, March 5, 1955, had the
iris dark brown; maxilla dark fuscous; mandible dull honey yellow ;
tarsus and toes fuscous; claws black. A female, at El Volcan,
Chiriqui, March 13, 1954, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black;
mandible honey yellow; tarsus and toes black; gape honey yellow.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
90.2-96.1 (93.5), tail 71.5-78.2 (74.8), culmen from base 19.0-20.5
(19.6), tarsus 14.4-15.7 (15.0) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 86.7-92.3
(88.8), tail 68.7-20.4 (19.4), culmen from base 19.0-20.5 (19.6),
tarsus 14.4-15.7 (15.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Subtropical Zone and the lower edge
of the Temperate Zone on Volcan Bart in Chiriqui. This inhabitant
of the higher mountain forests was little known among early col-
lectors. The first record for Panama was a bird in the Salvin-Godman
collection taken by Arce, labeled only “Chiriqui.”” This is listed by
Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 14, 1888, p. 236) and by Salvin
and Godman (Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, 1889, p. 83) without
detail except the brief description. It was first noticed regularly by
W. W. Brown, Jr., when from January to April 1901 he collected
18 specimens near Boquete and on the slopes of the volcano above,
at elevations ranging from about 1200 to over 2100 meters. These
were recorded by Bangs without detail other than locality, date, and
sex (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 39). Mrs. David-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 451
son found a female at Barriles, near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, January
12, 1931, and one at Cerro Punta January 1 of the same year, the
specimens being in the California Academy of Sciences. Blake
(Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 539) reported a series in the
Monniche collection from above Boquete at elevations ranging from
1580 to 1880 meters. He reported birds in breeding condition from
May 13 to July 23.
Skutch (Publ. Nutt. Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp. 79-82) has given
details of life history from observations along the Cordillera Central,
near Vara Blanca, and on the northern face of Volcan Irazu in
Costa Rica. Here these flycatchers were around openings at the
borders in the forests, not in the heavy stands of the interior. Each
individual had favored, elevated perches where it watched for passing
insects. These were captured on the wing, with the bird returning
to its original perch. The usual call is ‘‘a rather loud, staccato wic,
which is usually repeated several times in succession.” He heard also
a whistle that in the nesting season was combined with other sounds
in a clear dawn song. Three nests were open cups placed near the
outer ends of long branches. One contained a single egg (not de-
scribed), the other two, nestlings. The first nest was a “broad,
shallow cup that fitted like a saddle over the moderately thick branch.
. . . The massive outer wall was composed of green mosses, liver-
worts and lichens . . . bound together with cobweb. The cup was
thickly lined with fibrous rootlets and coarse vegetable fibers.” Dur-
ing the nesting season the pewees became much excited when ap-
proached by Emerald Toucanets, well known as nest robbers.
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 253-254)
in Costa Rica also reported the species common in mountain forests
where it was “the only abundant, high-perching, long-sallying fly-
catcher in the middle altitudes.”
On the slopes of Cerro Pando, near El Volcan, Chiriqui, March
1954, I found a pair resting on branches in the tops of tall dead
trees overlooking a valley. March 5, 1955, near Cerro Punta one
chose the summit of a tall bamboo as a lookout point. In form, size,
upright stance, dark coloration, and choice of lookout perches, these
flycatchers strongly suggest the Olive-sided Flycatcher. The dark
breast was a prominent mark even at some distance.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 1042, 1939, p. 2) has combined
the three groups of large pewees, Contopus pertinax, ranging from
southwestern United States to northern Nicaragua, C. lugubris of
Costa Rica and western Panama, and C. fumigatus of South America,
452 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
as a single species under the oldest name, fumigatus. From super-
ficial examination this may seem reasonable, as the birds are similar
in size and general appearance. However it is not fully verified.
The crest in the fumigatus group is less developed (a distinction
noted by Skutch when he saw the southern birds in the mountains
of eastern Ecuador). Also this assemblage appears to have a slighter
development of the bristles on the anterior part of the head. The
true fumigatus group ranges north only to the higher elevations of
the western Andes in northwestern Colombia. The bird of western
Panama is separated thus by the entire length of the Isthmus. Until
details are better known the three groups may be regarded as separate
specific entities.
[CONTOPUS OCHRACEUS Sclater and Salvin: Ochraceous
Pewee, Mosquero Aceitunado
Contopus ochraceus Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, October 1869,
p. 419. (Costa Rica.)
Size of the Dark Pewee, Contopus lugubris (length 155-170 mm.) ;
ochraceous-olive, darker above, with crown, wings, and tail dusky ;
two buff wing-bars; lower surface paler ochraceous-olive, with an
indefinitely indicated darker breast.
A rare species known from Volcan de Irazt and Turrialba, with a
few other reports in Costa Rica.
An early specimen, No. 497632, in the Rothschild collection in the
American Museum of Natural History, marked ““E. Museo Dalmas,”
has a rectangular green tag stamped ‘“‘Chiriqui,” and on the reverse,
“R. 71.6.a.B.M.” In search in the collections of the British Museum
(Natural History) I found only two specimens of this bird, both
collected by Underwood, one marked “Irazu,” the other “Estrella
de Cartago.” There was no record for the year 1871. The appear-
ance of the specimen in New York is closely similar to those in
London prepared by Underwood. The record without other verifica-
tion is too dubious to be accepted for Panama.
Eugene Eisenmann on February 29, 1960, at 2130 meters on the
Boquete trail above Cerro Punta, had a brief sighting of a flycatcher
that may have been this species, but the identification was not certain.
There have been other uncertain reports. |
CONTOPUS VIRENS (Linnaeus): Eastern Wood Pewee,
Papamoscas Oriental
Muscicapa virens Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, vol. 1, 1766, p. 327. (South
Carolina. )
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 453
Medium size; above more greenish olive; axillars and under wing
coverts white to pale grayish brown, tipped and edged with white;
longest upper tail covert shorter, with the distance from tip to end of
tail greater; mandible dull white to pale buff, except for tip.
Description—Length 135-145 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
olive with a faintly greenish cast, slightly paler posteriorly, darker on
the crown; wings dusky, with middle and greater coverts tipped with
pale gray; secondaries broadly, inner primaries narrowly, edged with
white; tail dark grayish brown to olive, with edges and tips of
rectrices faintly grayer; bare edge of eyelids black, bordered by a
very narrow line of white feathers; lores very slightly marked with
white; side of head and neck somewhat grayer than back; throat
white to yellowish white, lined indistinctly with pale gray ; lower fore-
neck, breast, and sides pale grayish olive, paler on sides and flanks ;
lower breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts pale yellowish white,
with the central feathers indistinctly grayish olive; axillars and
under wing coverts pale grayish olive, with white or yellowish
white margins.
Juvenile, like adult, but tips of lesser wing coverts, and border of
middle and greater coverts buff; much of upper surface narrowly
tipped and dotted with pale buff, these markings remaining longest
on hindneck, rump, and upper tail coverts; bill dark.
Measurements.—Males (10 from the breeding range, from South
Carolina and Kentucky to New Jersey), wing 82.5-89.7 (85.9), tail
62.6-67.9 (65.5), culmen from base 15.7-17.0 (16.4), tarsus 12.9-
13.7 (13.4), tip of longest upper tail covert to end of tail 33.9-36.8
(35.2) mm.
Females (10 from the breeding range from South Carolina and
Kentucky to New Jersey), wing 79.2-83.6 (81.2), tail 60.9-63.9
(62.4), culmen from base 14.9-16.1 (15.5), tarsus 13.0-14.2 (13.4),
tip of longest upper tail covert to end of tail 32.0-35.5 (34.1) mm.
Passage migrant from the north to and from winter quarters in
northern South America. Common. In southward flight in Panama
from September 8 to November 20; northward in spring, March 18
to May 16. To 1850 meters near Cerro Punta and 2130 meters above
Boquete, Chiriqui. Recorded from islas Pacheca, Bayoneta, and
Saboga, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Isla Taboguilla in Bahia de
Panama, and Isla Escudo de Veraguas, off Bocas del Toro.
The dates cited are those of specimens collected, and of birds
heard calling. Sight records without this verification, supposed to
be of this bird, extend the fall movement from the end of August
454 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
to early December, and dates in the spring period somewhat earlier
in March and later in May. There are no certain reports for the
intervening “winter” months.
That the Eastern Wood Pewee is the most abundant of the two
groups in Panama is evident from the specimen records assembled
in the course of my personal field work, where 26 of the 33 migrant
Wood Pewees obtained are the present bird against 7 of the western
group (listed under sordidulus and its races).
These northern migrants in Panama are found especially in low-
land and foothill localities, ranging in the borders of woodland and
in scattered trees and shrubs in open areas. Eisenmann, who has had
extensive experience with them, reports that though many remain
silent some call at intervals, with notes that readily identify them as
the eastern bird. They seek high, open perches, fly out to capture
passing insects, and then usually circle gracefully to return to the
lookout point. In this they behave as they do on their nesting grounds
in the North. Those that I have collected in April in northward
passage have been very fat.
While the migrant wood pewees as a whole are closely similar, they
are separable into two groups, one eastern and one western, in their
distribution in the breeding season. Those of the east (long known as
virens) have the lower half of the bill (the mandible) pale white or
buffy white, except for the narrowed point at the tip. The breast
band is paler gray, often partly, sometimes wholly, divided in the
center; lower breast and abdomen faintly yellowish white varying to
very pale yellow; axillars and under wing coverts lighter in color,
white to grayish brown tipped and edged with white. The gray of
the dorsal surface in unworn condition has a faint greenish cast in its
generally grayish olive hue. In the breeding season their range ex-
tends through eastern North America from southern Manitoba,
Ontario, and Quebec to southeastern Texas, the Gulf Coast and
central Florida. Through this extensive area they are uniform in
color and size without appreciable variation.
The western bird, Contopus sordidulus, and its allied subspecies
have the distal end (in some the greater part) of the mandible brown
or blackish brown. Above and on the breast the widespread northern
populations are much darker, being blackish brown to darker gray;
southern birds, in Baja California and Guerrero, although pale, are
gray with no greenish cast. These birds in their summer homes range
from eastern Alaska and southern Yukon through western United
States southward to Central America. All are migratory and winter
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 455
in northern South America. Dr. Allan Phillips points out another
character to separate the eastern and western groups in which the
distance from the distal end of the longest upper tail covert to the
tip of the tail is greater in the eastern virens than in the assemblage
of forms of the west. In addition, the longer song of two or three
notes in the eastern birds is more attractive than the shorter, less
musical call of those of the west.
While the two have long been treated as two species, recognized
by this difference in voice as well as by their coloration, in the area
where their ranges merge, the form of the call appears to intergrade.
Mainly because of this, recently some have treated the complex as a
single species under the specific name wirens. As this seems still
not definitely established the two here are listed as two species.
Recognition of wood pewees in Panama in the field is complicated
further by the presence of a distinct resident species Contopus
cinereus, similar superficially in color to virens, but smaller, and in
the hand with a different wing formula.
CONTOPUS SORDIDULUS Sclater: Western Wood Pewee,
Papamoscas Occidental
Medium size; like Contopus virens, but averaging darker, more
olive above; distal end or, in some, all of the mandible dark; axillars
and under wing coverts brown, varying in shade (but not white) ; dis-
tance from end of longest upper tail covert to end of tail less; in
general, with the breast band dark gray, only rarely divided in the
center ; in most the lower surface whiter.
The breeding range of the species in western North America ex-
tends from central Alaska and Yukon south through western Canada,
western United States, Baja California, and the southern mainland
of México (Guerrero and Chiapas) and to the highlands of Hon-
duras, possibly, but from present data uncertainly, to Nicaragua. It
has been reported nesting also in Costa Rica and in western Panama
but without basis in definite record. A supposed breeding record in
northwestern Colombia (De Schauensee, Caldasia, vol. 5, no. 26,
1952, p. 1199) refers to the resident race of Contopus cinereus.
Two additional forms described recently by Thomas D. Burleigh
(Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 1960, pp. 141-146) appear to repre-
sent two areas of intergradation between the most northern form
saturatus and veliei to the south. His proposed C. s. amplus appears
close to saturatus, and C. s. siccicola to veliei. They require further
study with additional material before recognition.
456 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Specimens available include representation in Panama as migrants
of four races. The subspecies may be recognized from the brief
descriptions that follow, through comparison and check with speci-
mens.
As further discussion, Contopus sordidulus P. L. Sclater was de-
scribed in 1859, with Orizaba, Veracruz, as the type locality. Its use
here as the species name for the Western Wood Pewee follows that
in current literature. (See Phillips and Parker, Condor, 1955, p. 244;
Webster, Indiana Acad. Sci., vol. 66, 1956, publ. 1957, p. 337;
Phillips, in Phillips, Marshall, and Monson, Birds of Arizona, 1964,
p. 91.) In current study of specimens no definite characters appear
in those seen from northern and central México to distinguish them
as a subspecific group from that currently recognized as veliei in the
area from the International Boundary northward in Arizona and New
Mexico. Sclater’s type specimen of sordidulus from Orizaba in the
British Museum (Natural History) should be examined carefully.
If it is a bird of the assemblage now accepted as the Western Wood
Pewee, then these will continue to be known as the species sordidulus.
As the oldest name for this group it also may replace that current
for one of the subspecies, possibly veliet.
CONTOPUS SORDIDULUS SATURATUS Bishop
Contopus richardsonii saturatus Bishop, Auk, vol. 17, no. 2, April 1900, p. 116.
(Haines, Alaska. )
Characters—Darkest of the forms; dorsal surface definitely
darker, especially on the crown; breast and sides darker gray; ab-
domen white.
Measurements.—Males (10 from the breeding range in British
Columbia, Washington, and Oregon), wing 83.4-90.0 (86.4), tail
60.8-66.3 (63.0), culmen from base 14.2-16.5 (15.3), tarsus 13.4—
14.6 (13.7), tip of longest upper tail covert to end of tail 29.9-30.8
(30.2) mm.
Females (10 from the breeding range in Oregon, Washington,
British Columbia, and Alaska), wing 79.5-88.3 (83.5), tail 59.7-63.8
(61.6), culmen from base 14.0-16.1 (15.0), tarsus 12.4-13.5 (12.8),
tip of longest upper tail covert to end of tail 27.8-30.8 (29.7) mm.
Passage migrant from the north, apparently to winter quarters in
northern South America; one record possibly of a wintering indi-
vidual, March 13, 1971, on Cerro Quia, at the Colombian boundary
in eastern Darién.
Two females collected September 14 and 22, 1961, at the head of
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 457
the Rio Changuena in the mountains of northwestern Bocas del Toro,
by R. Hinds working under the direction of Dr. Pedro Galindo, are
identified as this race. A male, collected by Galindo, March 13, 1971,
near the summit of Cerro Quia, Darién, is in full molt, indicating
that it was a wintering individual.
CONTOPUS SORDIDULUS VELIEI Coues
Contopus veliei Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 18, March 1866,
p. 61. (Mountains of Colorado Territory.)
Characters.—Lighter gray above and below than saturatus.
Measurements.——Males (10 breeding season birds from Cali-
fornia), wing 82.6-89.4 (87.0), tail 61.0-65.7 (63.1), culmen from
base 15.3-16.9 (16.1), tarsus 13.2-13.8 (13.4), tip of longest upper
tail covert to end of tail 30.0-32.5 (31.6) mm.
Females (10 breeding season birds from California, Nevada, and
Arizona), wing 80.5-86.5 (83.1), tail 57.2-64.9 (60.8), culmen from
base 14.5-16.5 (15.5), tarsus 13.2-13.8 (13.4), tip of longest upper
tail covert to end of tail 28.0-32.6 (30.4) mm.
Passage migrant from the north to winter quarters in northern
South America ; fairly common.
While it is assumed that most of the sight records identified by
call notes may be this race, few actual specimens have been collected.
Fall records in Panama include the following: One taken in the
Canal Zone on October 9, 1953, and one at Quiel, altitude 1640 meters
above Boquete, Chiriqui, December 7, 1931. The last is the latest
date for fall in Panama. In northward movement, one was taken
March 7, 1956, at 1370 meters on Cerro Pando, beyond El Volcan,
Chiriqui; one March 2, 1971 at 790 meters on Cerro Quia, and an-
other April 7, 1946 at Jaqué, in eastern Darién.
The specimens described by Burleigh as Contopus sordidulus
amplus, as stated above, are considered intermediate between veltei
and saturatus, but near veliet. It should be noted in connection with
this allocation that of two listed (loc. cit., p. 145) as from the Panama
Canal Zone only the male of “9 October 1953” is C. s. veliet. The
female of “30 September 1953” is Contopus virens.
In the original description Coues wrote “we have been in the habit
of designating these gray specimens as Contopus Veliei after Dr.
Velie, who sent the first example from the mountains of Colorado
Territory.” This was Dr. Jacob W. Velie, physician, ornithologist,
early secretary and curator of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
458 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The specimen mentioned, collected in summer 1864, was destroyed
with the Academy collections in the Chicago fire of 1871.
CONTOPUS SORDIDULUS PENINSULAE Brewster
Contopus richardsoniu peninsulae Brewster, Auk, vol. 8, no. 2, April (February
17), 1891, p. 144. (Sierra de la Laguna, Baja California, México.)
Characters.—Definitely paler gray above and below; bill longer
and broader.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Baja California), wing 79.3-85.2
(82.8), tail 54.2-61.0 (57.7), culmen from base 17.0-18.8 (17.7,
average of 9), tarsus 12.2-12.7 (12.5) mm.
Females (5 from Baja California), wing 77.3-81.2 (79.3), tail
55.7-58.8 (57.3), culmen from base 16.7-18.1 (17.3), tarsus 12.4—
12.8..(12-6)) mam:
Migrant from the north, in part passing to South America;
abundance uncertain.
The few records include one of doubtful sex collected October 26,
1931, at Quiel, above Boquete, by R. R. Benson, and a female, with
the body plumage partly in molt, taken February 15, 1966, on the
headwaters of the Rio Corotu, at the edge of the forest west of
Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui. The second specimen is small and, in
general, pale in color, with bill especially broad, in which the culmen
measures 17.3 mm. Another female in the American Museum of
Natural History, shown to me by Eisenmann, was collected by E. S.
Morton on Cerro Campana, Panama, August 13, 1970. It was identi-
fied as the present race by Allan Phillips.
This race has its breeding ground in southern Baja California. In
size and coloration it is closely similar to griscomi, differing in the
larger, broader bill. As it is little known in its migrations, it is inter-
esting to record a male taken by M. A. Carriker, Jr., September 4,
1946, at Buenos Aires, in central Norte de Santander, Colombia, now
in the National Museum.
CONTOPUS SORDIDULUS GRISCOMI Webster
Contopus sordidulus griscomi Webster, Indiana Acad. Sci., vol. 66, 1957, p. 337.
(Chilpancingo, Guerrero, México.)
Characters.—Paler ; lighter gray on the dorsal surface, lighter
below, in this resembling C. s. peninsulae but with bill shorter and
narrower.
Measurements.—Males (2 from the type locality), wing 81.7, 85.0;
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 459
tail 55.8, 60.0: culmen from base 13.5, 15.0; tarsus 11.5, 11.6 mm.
Female (1 from the type locality), wing 80.6, tail 60.0, culmen
from base 14.1, tarsus 12.0 mm.
Passage migrant from the north, probably to winter quarters in
northern South America ; abundance uncertain.
This form, resident in the breeding season in Guerrero, south-
western México, was named from a series from Chilpancingo and
Cuapongo. It was believed to winter in South America, though no
winter specimens were seen.
In our series there are two males, collected as migrants in western
Chiriqui, both at an elevation of 1280 meters. The first, on March 17,
1954, was found on the Quebrada Santa Clara, midway between El
Volcan and the Costa Rican boundary. The second, taken March 17,
1965, at Palo Santo on the western side of the Rio Chiriqui Viejo,
to the west of El Volcan, was heavy with fat. Both had completed
the winter molt and are in fresh plumage. They are similar to two
males and a female from Chilpancingo, available on loan from the
original series in the California Academy of Sciences through the
kindness of Robert Orr and Lawrence Binford. Measurements of
these are listed above. The two migrants are like the three mentioned
in bill form and size, but are faintly brighter in color due to their
recent renewal of feathers. They measure as follows: Wing 84.0,
85.0; tail 59.2, 61.2; culmen from base 14.3, 15.0; tarsus in both
13.0 mm.
Two others, in the American Museum of Natural History, col-
lected by E. S. Morton on Cerro Campana, Panama, August 13, 1970,
were sent by him to Eugene Eisenmann, who brought them to my
attention. Both are males in worn plumage but not yet in molt. They
have been identified as griscomi by Allan Phillips, in which I agree,
from comparison with the other specimens available. They measure
as follows: wing 84.0, 85.0; tail 55.8, 60.0; culmen from base 13.5,
ial tarsus, 11.5, 11.6, mma:
Apparently this form may pass regularly through the mountain
areas of the Republic. It may be identified only from specimens in
hand.
CONTOPUS CINEREUS (Spix): Tropical Pewee, Papamoscas
Tropical
Platyrhynchus cinereus Spix, Av. Bras. vol. 2, p. 11, pl. 13, fig. 2, 1825.
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. )
A small, slender pewee with relatively long tail; crown cap darker
than back ; lores indistinctly grayish white.
460 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description —Length 120-135 mm. Tenth (outermost) primary
shorter than the sixth. Adult (sexes alike), upper surface plain olive,
darker, often blackish, on the crown; rump and upper tail coverts
brownish ; a concealed tuft of white feathers on either side of rump;
wings dusky; middle and greater coverts tipped with grayish white
to brownish gray, secondaries edged distally with white to brownish
gray; lores white to grayish white (the paler color often indistinct) ;
a narrow line of white around eye; side of head and of neck, breast,
and upper abdomen grayish olive; in some this color confluent across
the breast; chin and throat white with the individual feathers pale
gray centrally; lower breast and abdomen, and in some the central
area of the breast, white to yellowish white; under tail coverts pale
brown, in some edged with white; axillars and under tail coverts
brownish white.
Juvenile, browner above, with feathers edged with buff to cinna-
mon-buff ; wing coverts tipped widely with pale cinnamon-buff; chin
brown, lower breast and abdomen whiter; tips of gray feathers of
breast edged indistinctly with dull white.
This smaller species of wood pewee, resident in Panama, in life
appears similar to the migrants and so will rarely be identified as
a separate kind. It is found through the Tropical Zone except in
the savanna areas. Seen closely it may appear smaller, more slender,
and with a small area of grayish white on the lores. Slud (Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 253) records that it may be
known by “The almost invariable shaking of the tail on its return
to a perch” after a sally to secure a passing insect on the wing. In
the hand, it is readily identified from its congeners by the tenth outer-
most primary being shorter than the sixth, and by its smaller measure-
ments. The species as a whole ranges in tropical America from
southern México to northern Argentina. Two races are found in
Panama.
CONTOPUS CINEREUS BRACHYTARSUS (Sclater)
Empidonax brachytarsus P. L. Sclater, Ibis, ser. 1, vol. 1, no. 4, October 1859,
p. 441. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México. )
Characters.—Similar in general to the migrant wood pewees of the
north that are found in the Isthmus in passage to and from their
winter homes in northern South America; somewhat smaller and
more slender ; may be identified when seen clearly by the grayish white
lores. This race is definitely paler on back and breast than the one
found on Isla Coiba.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 461
Measurements.—Males (10 from Los Santos, Coclé, Canal Zone,
Bocas del Toro, eastern Colén, and eastern Province of Panama),
wing 67.5-74.0 (70.7), tail 55.0-62.5 (59.7), culmen from base 14.2—
16.5 (15.4), tarsus 12.5-13.8 (13.3) mm.
Females (10 from Los Santos, Bocas del Toro, Canal Zone, and
eastern Province of Panama), wing 66.1-72.2 (69.6), tail 53.1-60.6
(57.9), culmen from base 13.8-15.3 (14.5), tarsus 12.7-13.6
(13.2) mm.
Stone (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 70, 1918, p. 267)
quotes notes from Jewel that describe the iris as brown, maxilla black,
mandible yellow, and feet black.
Resident. Common locally on the Pacific slope from western
Chiriqui east to western Darién, including the Azuero Peninsula, ex-
cept in the treeless savanna areas ; on the Caribbean side from western
Bocas del Toro to eastern Colén and the lower Chagres Valley; Isla
Cébaco in Golfo de Montijo; ranging to 750 meters in hill country.
March 27, 1957, I found several in the border of the mangrove
swamps below Tonosi, Los Santos, on the lower end of the Azuero
Peninsula. One was taken near Chiman, eastern Province of Panama,
February 20, 1950. Salvadori and Festa (Bol. Mus. Zool. Anat.
Comp. R. Univ. Torino, vol. 14, 1899, p. 5) record one from Punta de
Sabana, on the lower Rio Tuira in August 1895. Bond and de
Schauensee (Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Mon. 6, 1944, p. 38)
report one from Garachiné, Darién, the most eastern record.
This small resident pewee is found in areas of thickets and scattered
trees where usually it rests on rather low perches. It seldom enters
tall heavy stands of forest except at the borders. Its smaller size and
slender, less robust form may attract attention, but in life it is difficult
to distinguish from the larger species of the north that visit Panama
in their migrations. When seen clearly near at hand, the small
grayish white loral area is distinctive in occasional individuals. In
the hand, the species is easily identified by examination of the outer
primaries, where the tenth (outermost) is shorter than the sixth.
In the other wood pewees this outer primary is distinctly longer
than the feather mentioned.
The only call that I have heard them utter is a low swees su, being
suggestive in tone of the calls of some species of Empidonax. Skutch
(Pac. Coast Avif. 34, 1960, 322-327) in Costa Rica at dawn heard
them giving a song composed of a steady repetition of a single note,
weet weet weet, varied by a lower call we-ye that at times was con-
tinued briefly as a warbling sound.
462 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
He found the nests of this race placed from 2 to 10 meters from
the ground on small horizontal branches, or in a more or less upright
fork. They were flattened cups, built by the female, of small bits of
gray lichen, fibrous material, and cobweb, with a lining of fine grass.
The two or three eggs in a set were ‘‘dull white, with a wreath of
bright brown and pale lilac blotches about the thick end and a few
small spots of the same colors scattered over the remaining surface.
Two eggs measured 16.7 X 13.5 and 17.5 x 13.5 millimeters.”’ Though
the males regularly fed the females while on the nest they did not
share in the duty of incubation. However, they were active, with
snapping bills, in driving out any birds that happened to perch briefly
in the nesting tree, even flycatchers of much larger size. Newly
hatched young “bore rather thick, whitish down.”
Nesting in Panama appears to be somewhat irregular. Paired birds
with enlarging gonads were taken from the first week in February to
early March. General G. Ralph Meyer found a nest with two eggs,
so far advanced that they could not be saved, on Madden Road,
Canal Zone, June 23, 1941. Hallinan (Auk, 1924, p. 317) flushed one
from a nest (though apparently empty) on November 3, 1915, near
New Culebra, Canal Zone.
Stomachs of those that I have examined have held remains of
miscellaneous small insects, which the birds take on the wing.
CONTOPUS CINEREUS AITHALODES Wetmore
Contopus cinereus aithalodes Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 134, no. 9,
July 8, 1957, p. 65. (Isla Coiba, Panama. )
Characters—Decidedly darker, more olive that C. c. brachytarsus,
both above and below; edge of wing cinnamon.
Measurements.—Males (11 from Isla Coiba), wing 65.2-71.5
(68.7), tail 54.0-61.1 (57.0), culmen from base 14.8-15.9 (15.4),
tarsus 11.5-12.9 (11.9) mm.
Females (9 from Isla Coiba), wing 63.2-68.4 (66.5), tail 52.8-57.9
(55.4), culmen from base 14.7-16.1 (15.3), tarsus 11.5-12.9
(12.0) mm.
Resident. On Isla Coiba and Isla Rancheria, off the Pacific coast
of Veraguas.
In addition to the series taken in 1956 from which this race was
described, there are four in the British Museum (Natural
History) collected by H. J. Kelsall on the St. George Expedition
August 31 to September 4, 1924. Dr. Eisenmann and E. S. Morton
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 463
found them common on Coiba and on Isla Rancheria in early October
1965. Two were taken by Morton on October 9.
In the original description it was noted that these small flycatchers
were found usually on low perches in areas of open forest, where they
had clear view in their watch for small flying insects. When these
were sighted the bird darted out to seize them, often with a clearly
heard snap of the bill, and then turned gracefully to return to a
perch, often the one from which it had made its sally. They were
especially common along forest trails, and at times were found in the
thickets behind the coastal beaches. It was rare to note one in the
higher tree tops. At the time of my visit in January and early Febru-
ary they were silent.
EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS (Baird and Baird): Yellow-
bellied Flycatcher, Moscareta Barriga-Amarilla
Tyrannula flaviventris W. M. and S. F. Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila-
delphia, vol. 1, nos. 28-39, July-August (September 18), 1843, p. 283. (Carlisle,
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. )
Small; greenish olive above, yellowish underneath, with a faintly
indicated dark band across the breast.
Description—Length 118-130 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface greenish olive, with crown somewhat darker; wing coverts
dull black, middle and greater coverts tipped broadly with yellowish
white; distal ends of secondaries edged with yellowish white; pri-
maries dull grayish brown, with slightly paler outer edges; tail grayish
brown, with outer webs, and in some the tips paler; lores mixed
yellowish white and dull gray; a pale yellowish white ring around the
eye ; side of head like back, becoming paler on sides of neck and body ;
center of throat dull yellowish white, with the feathers faintly grayer
centrally ; upper breast light yellowish olive; lower breast, abdomen,
and under tail coverts pale yellow; axillars and under wing coverts
pale yellow, the outer coverts changing to dull gray; inner webs of
wing feathers grayish buff.
Measurements.—Males (10 in June, July, from northern New
York to Newfoundland), wing 65.2-68.5 (67.4), tail 51.2-54.9
(53.2), culmen from base 13.1-14.1 (13.7), tarsus 16.0-16.5
(16.2) mm.
Females (10 in June, July, from northern New York to New-
foundland), wing 61.1-65.9 (63.4), tail 47.3-50.8 (49.5), culmen
from base 12.7-14.0 (13.3), tarsus 15.8-16.1 (15.9) mm.
Winter resident, migrant from the north. Common on the Pacific
404 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
slope in Chiriqui, mainly in the highlands, but ranging to Puerto
Armuelles, Bugaba, Cerro Flores, San Félix, and Las Lajas east to
Veraguas, including the lower end of the Azuero Peninsula. Casual
eastward to Coclé, the Canal Zone, and Darién (Cerro Pirre) ; to
1980 meters on the slopes of Volcan Bart. On the Caribbean side
recorded on the Boquete trail, and at Guabo, Bocas del Toro;
Calovévora, Veraguas; and in the northern Canal Zone on Barro
Colorado Island, and at the former Lion Hill Station.
Early reports of this species are few and uncertain. Sclater and
Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p. 360) include it, with no
comment, in a list of birds that came to Salvin through his visit
to McLeannan at Lion Hill, Canal Zone, in March and April 1863.
At about this same time, Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York,
vol. 7, 1863, p. 8) included it in his final account (part IV) of
McLeannan’s collections. These two reports, and a sight record
October 17, 1944, on Barro Colorado Island by Arthur Allen, appear
to be the basis for recording the species from the Canal Zone. Gris-
com (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69, 1929, p. 178) reported a
male taken by R. R. Benson at Cana on Cerro Pirre, Darién, which
is the only other vagrant record to date. The earliest record for fall
arrival is one taken by Benson at El Villano near Santiago, Veraguas,
September 8, 1924; the latest for spring, April 13 at Guabo, Bocas del
Toro, and April 14 at Cana, Darién.
In 1966 I collected single individuals on six different days from
February 7 to March 12 near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui. In none
of these was there any indication of building fat for the migration
period ahead. Two were taken on the Rio Guanico, at Las Palmitas,
Los Santos, January 25 and 27, 1962, and four on Isla Cébaco, in
the lower Golfo de Montijo, Veraguas, January 16 to 20, 1965. One
was secured in eastern Chiriqui at Las Lajas, February 14, and two
near San Félix February 16 and 17, 1956. My most eastern record
was one taken on the Pacific slope near the head of Rio Mata
Ahogada, east of El Valle, Coclé, March 31, 1951. They were com-
mon in the highlands of Chiriqui from El Volcan westward to the
Costa Rican boundary near El Sereno, ranging down the slopes to
above Buena Vista at 700 meters elevation.
These flycatchers ranged regularly in thickets and second growth
along the banks of streams, like the Chiriqui Viejo, in undergrowth
in open woodland over the mountain slopes, and especially in thickets
bordering meadows. They were invariably alone, moved rather
quickly to rest under cover of leaves, and there remained quiet until
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 465
ready to shift about again. Rarely, in the beginning of March I heard
them calling, a low note, wee-soo, given with some emphasis. I found
it difficult in the cover that they often frequented to distinguish them
from small native flycatchers. Most of those taken in March were
molting, this including the feathers of the wings.
They ate insects, the usual food of this species, and also small
berries. On the whole they were quiet in their movements, and so
did not attract attention.
EMPIDONAX VIRESCENS (Vieillot): Acadian Flycatcher,
Moscareta Verdosa
Platyrhynchos virescens Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd., vol. 27,
December 1818, p. 22. (Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.)
Empidonax griseigularis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862,
p. 471. (Atlantic slope, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small; grayish olive-green above, two pale buff or white wing bars ;
a white eye-ring.
Description—Length 125-140 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
grayish olive-green, with crown faintly darker; wings grayish brown
to dusky ; middle and greater coverts tipped with buffy white or buff,
forming two prominent wing bars; secondaries edged narrowly with
the same; tail grayish brown, with the outer webs of the outer pairs
of feathers faintly paler; lores mixed with dusky and whitish (often
indistinctly) ; a white eye-ring; sides of head and neck like back,
fading below into the paler color of the throat, which is yellowish
white ; upper breast and sides shaded with pale grayish olive; rest of
under surface yellowish white, usually more yellow on the abdomen
and on the under tail coverts; axillars and under wing coverts pale
yellow ; inner webs of wing feathers edged with grayish buff.
Measurements.—Males (10 in breeding season, from South Caro-
lina and Tennessee north to Pennsylvania), wing 73.5-77.6 (75.6),
tail 57.6-61.7 (59.7), culmen from base 14.8-16.0 (15.4), tarsus
15.7-16.3 (15.9) mm.
Females (10 in breeding season, from Georgia to Kentucky and
New York), wing 68.1-71.6 (69.9), tail 53.0-56.6 (54.9), culmen
from base 14.5-15.7 (15.0), tarsus 14.6-15.7 (15.1) mm.
Winter visitor from the North. Common; mainly through the
lowlands, less frequently to 1760 meters at Cerro Punta and Nueva
Suiza, Chiriqui; 1250 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién; Isla
Taboguilla.
Acadian Flycatchers begin to arrive early in September (Barro
466 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Colorado Island, September 6, 1960, Willis) and remain to late April
or early May (Barro Colorado Island, May 1, 1961, Willis). The
record for Isla Taboguilla is of one taken March 18, 1952.
The Acadian Flycatcher is widely distributed, found through un-
dergrowth and the lower limbs in more open forest, coming also to
thickets along the borders of fields and pastures. In the main it
ranges under leaf cover, perching on small branches from which it
sallies to capture flying insects or, less often, to seize those moving
over twigs and leaves. The prey is small and covers a wide variety
of species. Small berries are eaten also, but seem to form only a
minor part of the winter food. The birds range singly as scattered
individuals, though in October and March, two or three may be found
in the same area, but not closely associated. Willis (Living Bird,
1966, pp. 193-195) in observations on Barro Colorado Island found
them associated with moving ant swarms with some regularity. They
call occasionally, usually a single explosive note, accompanied by a
twitch of the tail. On the whole, they live in these tropical forests
much as they do on their northern nesting grounds.
Two-thirds of the specimens in the considerable series in the Na-
tional Museum from Panama and Colombia, collected over a period
of 60 years, are females, which suggests a separation of the sexes in
their migrations. Traylor (Auk, 1968, p. 691) found that all, im-
mature and adult, have a complete molt between December and April
when in their winter range.
The birds vary considerably in the amount of yellow on the under
surface so that the brighter ones suggest Empidonax flaviventris.
While in life there may be confusion between them, in comparison
of specimens the present species differs in being paler yellow on the
abdomen, with the chest band lighter gray. The wing, tail, and bill
in virescens also are slightly longer.
EMPIDONAX ATRICEPS Salvin: Black-capped Flycatcher,
Moscareta Gorranegra
Empidonax atriceps Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, March 24 (November )
1870, p. 198. (Volcan de Chiriqui, Panama. )
Small, slender ; above, olive-brown with crown black; tail relatively
long, distinctly notched at tip; nostril completely exposed.
Description.—Length 105-115 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck blackish brown; back, scapulars, and rump olive to
olive-brown ; upper tail coverts darker ; wings dull black; greater and
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 467
middle coverts tipped lightly with grayish to dull white; secondaries
and inner primaries edged and tipped lightly with dull white; tail
grayish brown, with outer web of outer rectrix white; a definite white
eye-ring, interrupted in center above; bare edge of eyelids black;
lores indistinctly grayish; side of head grayish brown, fading below
into the dull grayish buffy white of chin and throat, the latter lined
indistinctly with dull white; breast and sides pale grayish olive-
brown; rest of under surface pale buffy yellow; axillars and under
wing coverts dull buffy white, becoming dull buff on edge of wing;
inner webs of wing feathers edged with dull buff.
Juvenile, back dull reddish brown; wing bands cinnamon-buff ;
chin and throat dull white; chest band cinnamon-buff; abdomen,
flanks, and under tail coverts faintly buffy white.
A female, taken at 2650 meters on the west face of Volcan Bart,
Chiriqui, March 4, 1965, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; tip
of mandible fuscous; base of mandible dull brownish yellow ; tarsus,
toes, and claws black ; inside of mouth orange.
Measurements—Males (10 from western Chiriqui and Costa
Rica), wing 58.6-62.7 (60.5), tail 49.0-53.5 (51.3), culmen from
base 11.0-12.0 (11.6), tarsus 16.0-16.5 (16.2) mm.
Females (10 from western Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 56.1-
57.4 (56.7), tail 46.648.9 (47.6), culmen from base 10.2-11.8
(11.0), tarsus 15.7-16.3 (16.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally on the mountain slopes of western
Chiriqui in the upper Subtropical and Temperate zones from 1800
to over 3000 meters; recorded at Mirador (below 2750 meters)
on the Caribbean slope in Bocas del Toro.
Above Cerro Punta I found several of these attractive flycatchers
in a pasture partly grown with brush, where sun warmed the mist-
filled air. They rested on low perches half a meter above the ground
or sought protection in a small depression where there was shelter
from the cold wind. On another day one perched on small twigs
projecting from a deadfall in a recently made clearing in heavy forest.
At rest they twitch the tail quickly, while watching alertly for passing
insects.
Little has been recorded regarding this species other than color
descriptions or the listing of specimens. Schonwetter (Handb. Ool.,
lief. 15, 1968, p. 106) listed three eggs in the Nehrkorn and British
Museum collections, with measurements of 17.5-18.0 x 13.5-14.7 mm.
attributed to ‘““Costa Rica, W. Panama.”
468 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
EMPIDONAX MINIMUS (Baird and Baird): Least Flycatcher,
Moscareta Menor
Tyrannula minima W .M. and S. F. Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
vol. 1, nos. 28-29, July-August (September 18), 1843, p. 284. (Carlisle,
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. )
Empidonax pectoralis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, De-
cember 1866, p. 402. (Lion Hill Station, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone,
Panama. )
Small; a prominent white eye-ring, and two white wing bars;
brownish olive above.
Description —Length 116-125 mm. Sixth (outermost) primary
with outer web narrowed toward the tip. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface brownish olive, with rump and upper tail coverts slightly
paler, and centers of the crown feathers darker; wings dusky, with
greater and lesser coverts tipped with buff or buffy white, forming
two light bands; secondaries edged and tipped with dull white ; tail
grayish brown, the outer feathers edged with brownish white; a broad
white or brownish white eye-ring ; lores dull white mixed with dusky ;
rest of side of head and of neck like back, fading ventrally into
the lighter color of throat and neck; rest of under surface dull white,
or pale yellowish white, with breast shaded with brownish gray;
axillars and under wing coverts white to pale yellowish white; inner
webs of wings pale buffy to yellowish white.
Measurements.—Males (10, taken in breeding season, North Caro-
lina to Montana), wing 61.0-67.2 (63.7), tail 51.5-57.5 (53.7),
culmen from base 12.2-13.4 (12.8), tarsus 15.8-16.5 (16.1) mm.
Females (10, taken in breeding season, North Carolina to Mon-
tana), wing 59.8-64.3 (61.4), tail 50.0-53.7 (51.2), culmen from
base 11.7-14.2 (12.7), tarsus 15.6-16.5 (16.0) mm.
Migrant; rare winter visitor from the North. Apparently casual
in occurrence.
The species was long known in Panama only from specimens col-
lected early by James McLeannan. One of the first, sent to George
N. Lawrence from the old Lion Hill Station on the railroad, was
described as a new species under the name E. pectoralis, as it was not
recognized that it was a migrant (see citation above). Three others
collected by McLeannan, now in the British Museum (Natural
History), are labeled Panama without other locality. One originally
was in the Salvin-Godman collection, the other two in the Sclater col-
lection. Bangs (Auk, 1901, p. 363) recorded a male collected by
W. W. Brown, Jr., October 16, 1900, at David, Chiriqui. We have
another, a female, received from Colonel F. S. Blanton, taken at
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 469
Farfan Beach, Canal Zone, October 5, 1953. Notes from Eisenmann
cite the record of another netted at Almirante, Bocas del Toro, on
October 19, 1965, by banders working for Loftin. This bird, small in
size (wing 63.5 mm measured flat), distinct eye-ring, and olivaceous
upper surface, was identified as a Least Flycatcher, banded and
released.
The Least Flycatcher, common in winter south through Honduras
and El Salvador, is recorded by Slud as rare in Costa Rica. Only
stragglers appear to reach Panama.
EMPIDONAX FLAVESCENS FLAVESCENS Lawrence:
Yellowish Flycatcher, Moscareta Amarillenta
Empidonax flavescens Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1865, p. 133. (Barranca, Costa Rica.)
Empidonax flavescens floresae Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, September 10,
1927, p. 10. (Cerro Flores, 1220 meters, eastern Chiriqui, Panama.)
Empidonax flavescens chitrae Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, September 10,
1927, p. 10. (Chitra, 915 meters, eastern Veraguas, Panama.)
Small; a distinct white eye-ring; yellowish green above; yellow
under surface, with buff across breast.
Description—Length 120-130 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
deep yellowish green; lesser wing coverts like back; rest of wings
grayish brown to dusky; middle and greater coverts tipped widely
with buff to cinnamon-buff, forming two broad bands; primaries
edged narrowly with light olive ; secondaries edged with buff to buffy
white; tail dark grayish brown, edged with yellowish green; bare
rim of eyelids black; a prominent white or pale yellowish white eye-
ring ; side of head and neck yellowish olive-green ; auricular area with
faint yellowish shaft lines; chin and upper throat yellow or yellowish
white, in some suffused laterally with grayish ; breast yellowish olive ;
rest of lower surface pale yellow; a concealed tuft of white to
yellowish white on flanks over tibia; axillars and under wing coverts
pale yellow; edge of wing buff to cinnamon-buff ; inner edge of wing
feathers pale buff.
Juvenile, brownish olive-green above; tips of wing coverts and
edging of secondaries cinnamon-buff ; chest pale cinnamon-buff ; lower
breast and abdomen white to yellowish white washed with buff on
the sides.
Mceasurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui) , wing 67.5-70.8 (69.1),
tail 52.3-55.5 (53.7), culmen from base 13.1-14.7 (14.1), tarsus
16.0-16.5 (16.3) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui), wing 58.6-64.4 (62.7), tail 47.5-
470 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
52.0 (50.4), culmen from base 13.0-14.2 (13.6), tarsus 15.5-16.5
(16.0) mm.
Resident. Locally common in western Panama from the upper
edge of the Tropical Zone through the subtropical region from the
Costa Rican boundary east on the Pacific slope along the central
mountain range to eastern Veraguas (Chitra), and on the Caribbean
side to northern Veraguas (Calovévora); to 2225 meters on the
Boquete trail above Cerro Punta, and 2040 meters above Boquete
(Casita Alta).
These small flycatchers range in undergrowth in highland forests,
partly in areas of rather dense growth, partly where the cover is more
open. They are alert in seizing small insects on the wing, and also
pick off those resting or moving over twigs or leaves. In such move-
ments they are quick and graceful, often raising the feathers at the
back of the crown as a pointed crest. Usually they perch low, a meter
or two above the ground or, in open areas, may range to 8 or 10
meters or more. The call is a low and sibilant wee siu. Skutch in
Costa Rica heard males uttering these notes continuously in a dawn-
song that ceased before sunrise.
Near El Volcan ovaries in females showed development by mid-
February. In Costa Rica Skutch (Publ. Nutt. Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967,
pp. 84-85) reported nests with eggs at the end of April. One of these
was “in a deep fissure in the side of a living cypress tree in an open
grove,” a second was “in an open niche in the side of a large, spread-
ing epiphyte-laden tree standing alone in a pasture.” The third was
a meter or more above the base of a cut bank “‘beside a little-used
roadway between pastures.” The nests ‘“‘were bulky masses of green
moss, or of mosses and liverworts, interlaced with a few fibrous
rootlets, horsehairs, or similar building materials.’ The open cup
in one held three eggs ‘“‘dull white, speckled and blotched with pale
brownish cinnamon, thickly on the broader end, more sparingly else-
where.” They measured 17.1 x 14.0, 17.6 x 14.0, and 17.5 x 14.2 mm.
Blake (Condor, 1956, p. 387) described two nests collected by
Monniche near Lérida, above Boquete April 13 and May 26, 1932, one
with three eggs, the other with two. They were “dull creamy white,
with chestnut-rufous spots and blotches concentrated chiefly at the
larger end.” Measurements of one clutch: 18 x 14.5, 18x 14.5, 18.5 x
14 mm.
According to Skutch, only the female incubated. The male did not
feed her, though he remained nearby, and occasionally during her
absence examined the eggs, clinging to the bark of the tree, or hover-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 471
ing before the nest. Later, when the young appeared he shared in
their care. When the young left the nest, for a time they rested on a
small branch, pressed closely against one another.
The allocation of the flavescens group is a matter of argument as
to its status. Some regard it as a separate species, others as a part
of the Empidonax difficilis complex. The birds of western Chiriqui
are like those of Costa Rica, the type locality of flavescens Lawrence.
The characters on which two races were named by Griscom, floresae
from eastern Chiriqui and chitrae from the mountains of Veraguas,
are duplicated in an extensive series from western Chiriqui and Costa
Rica so that the proposed forms are not recognized. Empidonax
flavescens here is regarded as a distinct species in accordance with
discussion by Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1605, 1953, pp. 3-7).
EMPIDONAX ALBIGULARIS AUSTRALIS Miller and Griscom:
White-throated Flycatcher, Moscareta Barbiblanca
Empidonax albigularis australis Miller and Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 159,
February 16, 1925, p. 5. (San Rafael del Norte, Nicaragua.)
Small; under tail coverts, tibia, edge of wing, and under wing
coverts buff; brownish olive above, with upper tail coverts buffy
brown.
Description—Length 118-125 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface brownish olive, with the crown darker, rump and upper
tail coverts somewhat olive-buff; wings dusky, middle and greater
coverts edged with buffy white, forming two bars; secondaries edged
with buffy white; tail dusky brown; outer web of the outermost
rectrix edged narrowly with dull white; rectrices tipped lightly with
dull buffy white; a narrow ring around eye dull white; lores with a
spot of grayish white; side of head and of neck grayish brown; throat
and foreneck white; a slightly marked band of buffy olive-brown
across the breast; abdomen and under tail coverts light buffy yellow ;
lower flanks and tibia light cinnamon-buff.
Juvenile, darker brown on back, crown and cheeks ; whiter on lower
surface, without a distinct breast band; tibia, wing bars, and edge of
wing cinnamon-buff ; under tail coverts faintly buff.
Measurements.—Males (8 from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and
Chiriqui), wing 60.5-62.3 (61.5), tail 49.6-54.5 (52.3), culmen
from base 13.4-14.7 (13.9), tarsus 16.1-16.7 (16.4) mm.
Females (6 from Honduras, Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Canal
Zone), wing 57.9-61.1 (58.9), tail 50.3-53.0 (51.1), culmen from
base 13.8-14.6 (14.1), tarsus 16.0-16.7 (16.3) mm.
472 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Weight, ¥ 9.1 grams (Hilty and Leck).
Resident. Rare; recorded in the highlands of Chiriqui above
Boquete, and near Nueva Suiza ; casual in the lowlands at Chiriquicito,
Bocas del Toro, and in the Canal Zone.
Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p. 360) re-
ceived one from McLeannan, presumed to have come from near the
Lion Hill station on the Panama Railroad. The specimen, now in
the British Museum (Natural History), is labeled female, but with-
out other data. Another lowland specimen, in the Museum of Com-
parative Zoology, is a female from Chiriquicito, Bocas del Toro,
taken by F. H. Kennard, March 26, 1926. A male in the American
Museum of Natural History was collected April 23, 1968, at about
1870 meters elevation, above Nueva Suiza, by S. Hilty and C. Leck.
Of three adults in the Ménniche collection in the Chicago Natural
History Museum, a male was taken at Lérida, June 23, 1936, and
two females at Velo, June 13 and 15, 1933. A fully grown juvenile
male came from Lérida, June 27, 1936.
Eisenmann, in manuscript notes, said of this species that ‘‘it evi-
dently breeds in the Chiriqui highlands,” where he heard one singing
at Alto Lino, at about 1200 meters elevation, on July 19 and 20, 1964.
The bird mentioned, resting on a wire passing above a brushy area,
“uttered an explosive buzzy, but not loud pseeyp or kzeyp. As it
sang it raised the head and neck and elevated the crown feathers
slightly.”
The only account of nesting in this species that I have seen is that
of Dickerman (Condor, 1958, pp. 259-260, fig. 2) who collected a
pair of the race Empidonax albigularis timidus, with their nest,
near E] Salto, Durango, in northwestern México on July 7, 1956. The
nest, placed about a meter above the ground, in a crotch in a small
willow beside a stream, was a thick-walled cup built of dried grasses,
lined with similar but finer materials. The three eggs (in the collec-
tion of the Minnesota Museum of Natural History) are “creamy,
with a wreath or crown of burnt umber spots and splotches circling
the larger end.’ The accompanying photograph indicates that they
vary from subelliptical to short subelliptical in form. They measure
17.2 13.2, 17.8 12.5, and 17.3 13.1 mm. Goldman (Smithsonian
Misc. Coll., vol. 115, 1915, p. 142) gives the elevation at El Salto
as ranging from about 2315 to 2550 meters.
While White-throated Flycatchers nowhere are common, they
range widely from México to Panama. Early information on them
was scanty, with confusion in names applied to them. As a whole
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 473
there appear to be two forms in México, with one of them ranging
south to Guatemala. A third subspecies is found from Honduras to
Panama. Under present understanding these three subspecies may
be recognized as follows:
Empidonax albigularis albigularis Sclater and Salvin.
Empidonax albigularis Sclater and Salvin, Ibis, vol. 1, no. 2, April 1859,
p. 122. (Duefias, Guatemala. )
Empidonax axillaris Ridgway, in Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, History of
North American Birds, Land Birds, vol. 2, January 1874, p. 363 (in Key).
(Orizaba, México. )
Somewhat browner above, and in the breast band; averaging paler
throughout.
Measurements—Males (1 from Guatemala, 6 from Orizaba,
México), wing 59.2-63.4 (61.2), tail 52.9-57.2 (54.8), culmen from
base 13.6-14.8 (14.1), tarsus 15.5-16.8 (16.0) mm.
Females (2 from Orizaba, México), wing 57.5, 58.9; tail 51.3,
53.7; culmen from base 14.2, 14.3; tarsus 16.2, 16.5 mm.
Eastern México to Guatemala.
Empidonax albigularis timidus Nelson
Empidonax timidus Nelson, Auk, vol. 17, no. 3, July 1900, p. 263. (El Salto,
Durango, México. )
Brown like E. a. albigularis, but paler.
Measurements, male (type), wing 61.7, tail 54.7, culmen from
base 13.3, tarsus 16.5 mm.
Northwest México.
Empidonax albigularis australis Miller and Griscom
Empidonax albigularis australis Miller and Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 159,
February 16, 1925, p. 5. (San Rafael del Norte, Nicaragua.)
Somewhat darker, more olive in general coloration; dorsal surface
darker ; breast band slightly more olive.
Honduras through Nicaragua and Costa Rica to the highlands of
Chiriqui ; accidental in the Canal Zone.
For measurements, see above.
EMPIDONAX ALNORUM Brewster: Alder Flycatcher,
Moscareta Verdusca
Empidonax traillii alnorum Brewster, Auk, vol. 12, April 1895, p. 161. (Upton,
Maine. )
Small; throat white; a slightly indicated dark band across the
breast; larger than the Least Flycatcher, Empidonax minimus, with
white eye-ring narrower, less evident.
474 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Upper surface dark olive-green. (Song, recorded on the northern
nesting grounds, with three syllables, fee-bee-o. )
Description—Length 128-140 mm. Sexes alike. Above dark
olive-green, faintly browner on the rump and upper tail coverts;
crown usually slightly darker than the back; wings dusky brown;
lesser coverts like back; middle and greater coverts tipped with pale
olive-brown to pale buffy brown, forming two distinct wing bars;
secondaries edged with the same color; inner primaries bordered
lightly with pale buffy white; tail dark grayish brown, with outer
rectrix edged with dull white, some or all of the others tipped faintly
with dull white; throat white; a band across chest, including the
adjacent sides, pale brownish to olive-gray; rest of under surface,
including under wing coverts, white, tinged more or less with pale
yellow, especially in freshly molted birds.
Measurements——Males (10 from the northern breeding grounds in
Alaska, Montana, Athabaska, Labrador, and Maine), wing 70.3-
75.9 (73.8), tail 56.8-62.2 (59.3), culmen from base 13.4-15.5
(14.5), tarsus 16.2-16.8 (16.4) mm.
Females (10 from the northern breeding grounds in Alaska,
Yukon, Mackenzie, Labrador, and Maine), wing 66.0-70.8 (68.2),
tail 53.7-57.6 (54.9), culmen from base 13.9-15.5 (14.6), tarsus
15.7-16.9 (16.2) mm.
Passage migrant from the North. Probably fairly common, but as
yet known definitely in Panama from the few specimen records cited
below.
From present information this flycatcher breeds from Alaska and
Canada, southward and eastward to New England. The earliest
report for Panama is a female in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology, taken April 11, 1904 by W. W. Brown, Jr., on Isla Saboga
in the Pearl Islands. I collected a male April 14, 1947, in the valley
of the Rio Imamad6, a tributary of the Rio Jaqué, near the Colombian
border in southeastern Darién. Other records are of individuals in
migration that have landed at night on ships in the Gulf of Panama.
The first of these is a female that I captured May 11, 1921, at sea
off Punta Mala when a passenger on a Grace Line steamer en route
from the west coast of South America to New York via the Panama
Canal. Three others, sexed as females, in the collection of the Uni-
versity of Miami, were collected by L. Holthuis, May 8, 1967, when
they landed on the deck of the R. V. Pillsbury at 7°50’ N Latitude,
78°30’ W Longitude, near the coast of eastern Darién.
In collections made for the National Museum by M. A. Carriker,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 475
Jr., in Colombia there are two, male and female, taken at Socarré
on the upper Rio Sint, Department of Cordoba, April 12, 1949; and
two, also male and female, at Simiti, Department of Bolivar, April 2
and 12, 1947. Another male April 21, 1952, came from San Agustin,
Department of Huila, far to the south near the head of the Rio
Magdalena. These are assumed to have been collected on or near
their wintering grounds. It is not certain that this species winters in
Panama, as the records for April, from Isla Saboga and eastern
Darién, may be of birds that were in transit from a more southern
wintering ground.
While long considered a subspecies of Empidonax trailliu, it has
been shown recently, especially from studies originated by R. C. Stein,
that alnorum is marked by its characteristic three-noted song, usually
written fee-bee-o, while in the traillii group this is of two syllables,
fitz-bew.
Gorski, (Auk, 1971, pp. 429-431) near Iquitos, Peru, from
October 31 to November 3, 1968, recorded regular response to play-
back of the three-syllabled call, but from this had no reaction to the
two-syllabled song, fitz-bew of nominate traillii, an indication of a
South American winter home for the alnorum population.
Where the nesting areas of alnorum and traillii join, as in northern
New York and southern New England, the two may be found to-
gether, but living as separate entities that are not known to hybridize.
From this the two are treated as separate species. The A.O.U.
Committee on Classification and Nomenclature suggests that where
specific identification between the two is not made, the group term
“Traill’s Flycatcher”’ be used.
In this present study, identification of specimens from Panama has
been made through details of dorsal coloration. Differences in com-
parative length of the fifth primary may be useful in separating indi-
viduals on the northern nesting grounds. But this may not be certain
in those from Panama where the outer primaries, even in April, may
not have attained their full growth, since these birds have their
complete annual molt while in the south.
EMPIDONAX TRAILLII (Audubon): Traill’s Flycatcher,
Moscareta Aceitunada
Small. In general like E. alnoruwm, but browner or grayer, less
greenish, above.
Description—Length 125-140 mm. Varying from olive-brown to
grayish brown and grayish above, separated in races through differ-
476 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
ences in this coloration. Song with two syllables, usually written
fite-bew.
Through its wide distribution in the breeding season to the south
of that of Empidonax alnorum, four geographic races have been
recognized in this species. All are migrant, moving south to live for
the period of northern winter in Central America and northern
South America.
Like the related EF. alnorum, all have the complete annual molt
during the winter season, so that many of the migrant specimens
seen at that season are imperfect in color and plumage through wear
or the process of feather renewal. From this, identification of some
specimens to subspecies may be difficult or uncertain. Comparative
color differences of the forms are outlined in the accounts that follow.
Measurements cited have been taken from adult birds collected on or
near their northern nesting grounds.
Gorski (Auk, 1969, pp. 745-747), in December and January of the
winter season of 1967-1968, used recordings of the two- and three-
syllabled songs, made on their northern nesting grounds, in playback
at several localities in central Panama. Response came from several
individuals to the two-syllabled “fitz-bew” of trailli, near Gamboa,
Canal Zone, and at La Jagua, near Pacora, eastern Province of
Panama. In many experiments there was no reaction to the three-
syllabled call of alnorum. During the mid-winter period the birds
appear to have local distribution as none responded at a number of
apparently favorable localities.
As a group (including E. alnorum) these flycatchers are fairly
common in Panama through the Tropical Zone, with some ranging
higher in the lower Subtropical Zone. They are found mainly in
thickets and at the borders of forests, less often in undergrowth in
densely forested areas. While not especially shy, ordinarily they are
inconspicuous because of their quiet habits and the heavy cover in
which they live. Their usual call, heard occasionally, is a low whit,
with limited carrying power.
Stomachs of those that I have examined have held insects only. I
have not seen them visiting berry-laden feeding trees.
EMPIDONAX TRAILLII TRAILLII (Audubon)
Muscicapa traillii Audubon, Birds Amer., Folio, vol. 1, 1828, p. 45; Orn. Biogr.,
vol. 1, 1831, p. 236. (Arkansas Post, Arkansas County, Arkansas.)
Darkest dorsally of the races; more olive-brown above than
E. alnorum, with slight, if any, greenish hue.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 477
The measurements listed have been taken from males collected on
their northern breeding grounds.
Measurements——Males (10 from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New
Jersey, and New York), wing 70.0-74.6 (71.7), tail 54.5-59.0 (56.2),
culmen from base 13.6-15.3 (14.6), tarsus 16.1-16.9 (16.5) mm.
Females (2 from Indiana and Illinois), wing 67.0, 68.0, tail 53.0,
54.5, exposed culmen 11.0, 11.5, tarsus 14.5, 16.0 mm.
Migrant from the north, not common; recorded (from specimens)
from October 30, through the winter season in December, to May 11.
Those of this race that I have seen from Panama include an
adult female, that had not yet begun the molt, from Barro Colorado
Island, Canal Zone, October 30, 1956; an adult male with molt com-
mencing, from Almirante, Bocas del Toro, December 11, 1960; a
male that had renewed most of its plumage, from Tonosi, Los Santos,
March 23, 1957; and one in full dress from Curundu, Canal Zone,
May 11, 1963.
Records in the collections made by Carriker in Colombia include a
male from Nuqui on the coast of Chocd, March 1, 1951, another from
Tierra Alta, near the Rio Sint, Cordoba, February 17, 1949, male
and female from Villa Felisa, Norte de Santander, October 23 and
November 1, 1947; and one that I secured at Nazaret, eastern
Guajira, April 29, 1941.
Two males of this race in the Museum of Comparative Zoology
were taken by W. W. Brown, Jr., on Isla Saboga, Archipiélago de
las Perlas, April 12 and 13, 1904.
EMPIDONAX TRAILLII BREWSTERI Oberholser
Empidonax trailli brewstert Oberholser, Ohio Journ. Sci., vol. 18, no. 3, January
1918, p. 93. (Cloverdale, Nye County, Nevada.)
Somewhat dark grayish brown; not as olive in hue as nominate
traillu, and averaging slightly smaller.
_ Measurements—Males (4 from Washington and California),
wing 66.9-69.1 (67.9), tail 54.4-58.4 (56.5), culmen from base
14.3-14.9 (14.6), tarsus 16.1-16.6 (16.4) mm.
Females (4 from Washington and California), wing 62.8-67.7
(65.1), tail 52.2-56.6 (55.2), culmen from base 14.3-15.9 (15.1),
tarsus 16.1-16.7 (16.2) mm.
Migrant from the north, possibly present during the winter season.
The only specimen definitely identified from Panama that I have
seen is a male with molt nearly complete, that I collected at Pesé,
Herrera, March 30, 1948.
478 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Others of this form, all males, from northern Colombia, include
one from Punto Muchimbo, on the lower Rio San Juan, Valle,
January 11, 1951, two from Regeneracion, Bolivar, February 10,
1948, and one from Nazaret, eastern Guajira, April 29, 1941.
EMPIDONAX TRAILLII ADASTUS Oberholser
Empidonax traillii adastus Oberholser, Sci. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 4, no. 1, September 19, 1932, p. 3. (Hart Mountain, northern end of
Warner Valley, 20 miles northeast Adel, Oregon.)
Definitely grayer than brewstert, slightly darker throughout than
extimus.
Measurements——Males (8 from Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and
Utah), wing 67.7-72.0 (69.9), tail 54.8-60.0 (57.4), culmen from base
14.5-17.9 (15.8), tarsus 16.4-16.9 (16.5) mm.
Females (8 from Oregon, Idaho, and Utah), wing 65.2-69.0 (67.3),
tail 53.9-58.6 (55.9), culmen from base 14.2-16.1 (15.2), tarsus
16.0-16.7 (16.4) mm.
Migrant from the north; fairly common as a winter resident in the
lowlands; one record at 600 meters elevation on Cerro Pirre.
This form, recorded from September to April throughout the low-
lands of Panama, is fairly common through the winter season. I have
found it in undergrowth, usually near streams. One from Cerro
Pirre, Darién, is a female taken by E. A. Goldman in second growth
jungle, March 23, 1912.
The Carriker collections from northwestern Colombia include two
females from Rio Viejo, February 20 and 23, and male and female
from Norosi March 10 and 13, 1947, all in the Department of
Bolivar; and a female from Pueblo Nuevo, Cordoba, January 22,
1949,
EMPIDONAX TRAILLII EXTIMUS Phillips
Empidonax traillii extimus Phillips, Auk, vol. 65, no. 4, October 22, 1948, p. 512.
(Feldman, lower San Pedro River, Arizona.)
Definitely close in hue to adastus but paler ; lightest in dorsal color
of the races.
Measurements.—Male (1 from New Mexico), wing 70.4, tail 62.6,
culmen from base 15.5, tarsus 16.5 mm.
Females (6 from Arizona and New Mexico), wing 63.6-69.2
(67.1), tail 53.1-58.3 (56.3), culmen from base 14.6-16.0 (15.5),
tarsus 16.1-17.0 (16.4) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 479
Migrant from the north. Recorded from September 8 to May 26;
fairly common through the winter months; found at 725 meters in
the mountains of Bocas del Toro.
Specimens were collected as follows: San Félix, Chiriqui, Febru-
ary 21, 1956, female; Gatun, Canal Zone, May 8 and 15, 1911, two
females; Portobelo, Colon, May 26, 1911, female; and FE] Real,
Darién, January 25, 1964, female. A record of especial interest is a
female collected September 8, 1961, at an elevation of 725 meters in
the upper valley of the Rio Changuena in western Bocas del Toro.
The present race and E. t. adastus apparently are equally common
and widely distributed during winter throughout the Isthmus, and
also in Colombia. Specimens from the latter country were collected
by Carriker in the Department of Bolivar, at La Raya, January 19
and 30, 1948, and Norosi, February 28, 1947; Pueblo Nuevo, eastern
Cordoba, January 22, 1949; and near El Dificil, Magdalena, De-
cember 27, 1946. I secured males at Nazaret, Guajira, on April 26
and May 1, 1941.
MITREPHANES PHAEOCERCUS (Sclater): Tufted Flycatcher,
Moscareta Monuda
Mitrephorus phaeocercus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27, May
1859, p. 44. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México.)
Small, with a pointed crest ; greenish back, cinnamon-brown breast,
light buff or yellow abdomen; a partly concealed white tuft on either
side of rump.
Description—Length 115-122 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface greenish olive; crown slightly darker than the back, with
indistinct darker shaft lines; a distinct, but partly concealed white
tuft on either side of rump; wings dusky ; middle and greater coverts
tipped with whitish to buff; secondaries edged distally with dull white
to light olive ; tail dusky grayish brown, tipped faintly with cinnamon-
buff; sides of head dull cinnamon-buff to buffy olive; foreneck and
breast cinnamon-brown; lower breast and abdomen cinnamon-buff
to yellow; axillars and under wing coverts buff to cinnamon-buff.
Juvenile, upper surface dull, dark reddish brown, tipped with
cinnamon-buff, these lighter markings forming an indistinct band
across the hindneck; tips of middle and greater coverts cinnamon-
brown; lower surface darker than in adult.
The species ranges widely through mountain areas from northern
México south through Central America, western Colombia, and
Ecuador. A close relative, Mitrephanes olivaceus, is found in Pert
480 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
and Bolivia. The northern bird varies considerably through its wider
distribution, so that seven geographic races are recognized in the
latest revision (Webster, Auk, 1968, pp. 287-303). Three of these
are found in Panama. While Webster suggests placing Mitrephanes
in a linear sequence between Contopus and Empidonax, it seems more
appropriate here to list it following them, because of the extensive
northern range and the migratory habits of the majority of the
other two.
MITREPHANES PHAEOCERCUS AURANTIIVENTRIS
(Lawrence)
Mitrephorus aurantiiventris Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
1865, p. 173. (Tabacales, San José, Costa Rica.)
Characters——Somewhat darker cinnamon-buff on foreneck and
breast, with this color, in paler shade, extending over the abdomen,
flanks, and under tail coverts ; tarsus slightly longer.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
58.6-62.7 (60.5), tail 49.0-53.5 (51.3), culmen from base 11.0-12.0
(11.6), tarsus 16.0-16.5 (16.2) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 56.1-57.4
(56.7), tail 46.6-48.9 ,47.6), culmen from base 10.2-11.8 (11.0),
tarsus 15.7-16.3 (16.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally in upper Tropical and Subtropical Zone
forests of the mountains of western Chiriqui, from Boquete west
through El Volcan and Cerro Punta toward Costa Rica, at about
1200 to 2150 meters.
In the main, these birds range in the undergrowth of humid moun-
tain forests, where they are not rare, but are restricted locally in
occurrence. Fortunately they are adaptable, as they are able to adjust
to the growths that replace the original forest when this has been cut.
They may range also in fairly open areas where there are scattered
trees in pasturelands.
The narrowly pointed crest gives them an alert appearance, and
identifies them when their colors are not clearly seen. In form and
actions in general they are similar to Wood Pewees. It is usual to
find them on lookout perches rather near the ground, where they
watch alertly for passing insects. These are captured expertly by a
dash in the air, when the bird circles to return to its lookout point.
The projecting branches of a fallen tree near the ground are favored
locations, but also they may range higher, even into the tree crown.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 481
Like the small resident Wood Pewees of the lowlands, the tail often
is shivered as the birds return to a perch.
Eisenmann describes their calls as “a piping pip-pip-pip-pip vary-
ing in the number of notes, and occasionally uttered at a faster pace.”
He remarks that the notes suggest those of the much larger Dark
Pewee, but are higher in pitch.
Skutch (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp. 86-90) in an
account of this race in Costa Rica (where in addition to its mountain
range it occurs at lower elevations in humid forest) found nests
built in pendant loops of vines, often adjacent to growths of ferns,
mosses, and other epiphytes. The exterior of the shallow nest cup
was formed of mosses gathered from nearby branches. The lining
was of branching lichens. In building, the female worked alone, with
the male resting and calling nearby. The eggs, seen by means of a
mirror attached to a slender stick, “were two, dull white, with a
conspicuous wreath of brownish white around the thicker end.’ The
male occasionally brought an insect and fed his mate, but did not
assist otherwise during incubation. The female on the nest kept sharp
watch for insects, and when one passed near, often flew directly
from her position on the eggs to seize it, usually returning immedi-
ately to her post. As the nest was inaccessible, no measurements of
the eggs were made. They were taken by some predator before
hatching.
MITREPHANES PHAEOCERCUS VIVIDUS Griscom
Mitrephanes aurantiiventris vividus Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 11. (Chitra, 1220 meters, Veraguas, Panama.)
Characters.—Foreneck and breast slightly paler, ranging from a
color almost identical with that of M. p. aurantiventris from Veraguas
and Coclé, to one definitely paler in Darién; abdomen distinctly
yellowish buff to yellow; dorsal surface lighter green; tarsus slightly
shorter.
The markings of the lower surface show a cline from darker in
Veraguas and Coclé to paler eastward on Cerro Tacarcuna.
A male collected on Cerro Mali, Darién, March 1, 1964, had the
iris dark brown; maxilla black; mandible honey yellow; tarsus and
toes fuscous-black ; claws black; gape and inside of the mouth, in-
cluding the tongue, honey yellow.
A female from this locality, taken on March 16, was similar.
Another female from the head of the Rio Guabal, Coclé, March 3,
482 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
1962, also had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; mandible dark
honey yellow, with a tiny area at the pointed tip fuscous; tarsus and
toes dark brown; claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama, and
Tacarcuna, Darién), wing 59.5-64.0 (62.3), tail 48.5-53.5 (51.4),
culmen from base 11.0-12.8 (12.0), tarsus 12.0-12.8 (12.3) mm.
Females (7 from Veraguas, Coclé, and Tacarcuna, Darién), wing
57.1-61.3 (58.6), tail 46.7-51.0 (49.4), culmen from base 11.4—12.2
(11.8), tarsus 12.3-12.6 (12.4) mm.
Resident. Found locally, in small number, on the mountains of
eastern Veraguas (from both Pacific and Caribbean slopes), and of
northwestern Coclé ; Cerro Campana, western sector of the Province
of Panama; and Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién (including the eastern
face in Choco, Colombia).
Benson collected one on the Rio Calovévora, on the Caribbean slope
of Veraguas, September 3, 1926. My first specimen was a female,
taken at 650 meters elevation at Las Pefiitas at the head of Rio
Guabal, on the trail leading to the Caribbean lowlands of northern
Coclé. Four from El Valle were collected March 29, 1951, at an
elevation of 760 meters in heavy forest along a small stream at the
northern end of the Cerro La India Dormida. A few days earlier,
on March 21, I had secured one and saw another at 1000 meters eleva-
tion on the south face of Cerro Campana. Here, a deadfall that had
made a small opening in the forest offered suitable low perches,
where two of these flycatchers rested, on the watch for passing
insects.
From Darién, on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna, we have three taken
at the ancient village site at 575 meters, and on the high mountain
ridge of Cerro Mali at 1280 meters. These birds at times varied
from the usual habit of low perches to range in the high tree crown
when this faced a small clearing. The height from the ground empha-
sized their tiny size, less evident in those encountered near at hand
and lower down.
Webster, in his revision of this species (Auk, 1968, p. 301) with
only part of the material now available, assigned the few seen from
the Tacarcuna area to the race eminulus. Additional specimens now
available indicate clearly that birds of this area are the subspecies
vividus. Those of Veraguas, from which the subspecies was de-
scribed, show some affinity to auranttventris in the more cinnamon
hue of the foreneck and breast. Birds from Cerro Campana and
Cerro Tacarcuna, which are definitely paler cinnamon on the breast
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 483
and clearer yellow on the lower breast and abdomen, may be regarded
as more typical. It will be noted that vividus, in general, has a lower
altitudinal range. It is interesting that none have been taken as yet
on Cerro Azul.
MITREPHANES PHAEOCERCUS EMINULUS Nelson
Mitrephanes eminulus Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3, Sep-
tember 24 (September 27), 1912, p. 13. (Cana, Darién, Panama.)
Characters—Foreneck and upper breast pale buff; lower breast,
sides, and abdomen clear yellow; slightly duller green above. Dis-
tinctly duller colored than M. p. vividus; tarsus shorter as in that
form.
Measurements——Males (6 from Cerro Pirre, Darién, and Choco,
Colombia), wing 59.0-61.3 (60.2), tail 49.7-56.8 (51.8), culmen
from base 11.1-12.0 (11.6), tarsus 11.2-12.8 (12.3) mm.
Females (3 from Cerro Pirre, Darién), wing 54.5-58.2 (57.3),
tail 46.5-48.6 (47.4), culmen from base 11.3-12.5 (12.0), tarsus
11.8-12.2 (12.0) mm.
Resident. Rare, on Cerro Pirre, Darién.
This form was described from three males and two females col-
lected near Cana, Darién, by E. A. Goldman, at elevations of 550 to
760 meters. Benson, in 1928, secured a male and two females.
A note by Goldman speaks of one taken from a low limb in heavy
forest. In three of the stomachs preserved from his specimens I
identified a variety of small insects, including numerous kinds of
beetles, a winged ant, other small hymenoptera, and Homoptera. A
small caterpillar indicated that occasionally this flycatcher may take
other than flying insects.
A male of this race collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., on the Rio
Nuqui, at the base of the Serrania de Baudo, on the western slope of
central Choco, Colombia, marks an extension from the previously
known range. It is the first record for Colombia.
TERENOTRICCUS ERYTHRURUS FULVIGULARIS (Salvin and
Godman): Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Moscareta Colicastana
Myiobius fulvigularis Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 2, pt.
73, February 1889, p. 58. (Santa Fé, Veraguas, Panama.)
Very small; tail and under surface cinnamon-buff.
Description—Length 90-100 mm. Rictal bristles nearly as long
as bill. Adult (sexes alike), crown, hindneck, and back grayish olive,
with the forehead and lower back tinged with buffy cinnamon; rump
484 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
cinnamon-rufous; wings dusky; wing coverts and broad edgings on
secondaries cinnamon; primaries edged narrowly with buff; upper
tail coverts and tail cinnamon-rufous; side of head grayish olive,
with a narrow line of cinnamon-buff around the eye; lores whitish;
chin and upper throat pale cinnamon-buff; rest of under surface,
including the under wing coverts, axillars, and inner margin of
secondaries ochraceous-buff.
In several males the iris varied from reddish brown to dark brown;
maxilla and tip of mandible from dark neutral gray to black; rest of
mandible from flesh color to pale yellow; tarsus and toes from pale
brown to buffy brown and dull honey yellow ; claws mouse brown to
neutral gray.
In one female the iris was dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible
dull black; base of mandible flesh color; upper half of tarsus dull
reddish brown, shading to fuscous on lower section and toes; claws
dark neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui to Darién), wing 48.9-
51.8 (50.4), tail 37.5-40.2 (39.4), culmen from base 8.7-10.7 (9.8),
tarsus 15.2-16.5 (15.8) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui to Darién), wing 45.3-48.9 (47.4),
tail 34.2-38.8 (36.6), culmen from base 9.5-10.8 (10.0), tarsus 13.2-
14.7 (13.9) mm.
Resident. Widely distributed but not abundant. Found in forested
areas throughout the Tropical Zone; adaptable, as where the original
forest has been cut these birds may be found in taller stands of
second growth.
In lowland Chiriqui I found a few in 1966, back of Puerto
Armuelles, and others in 1956, in a narrow band of coastal forest
in the eastern part of the province at Las Lajas. It is known also
from the forested western side of the Azuero Peninsula, but not
from the eastern slope in Los Santos or Herrera, nor from the open,
lowland savannas from Coclé eastward in the western Province of
Panama. In this area it seems to follow the foothills inland. It
lives also on Cerro Campana, in the northern Canal Zone, and on
Cerro Azul, and from the lower Bayano area, beyond Chepo, con-
tinues to the Colombian boundary in Darién. On the Caribbean slope,
it is widely spread from western Bocas del Toro east through the
lower Chagres area to far eastern San Blas.
These tiny birds usually are found singly, occasionally in pairs,
resting quietly on open perches 3 or 4 meters above the ground in
the heavy shade of tall forest. Rarely, I have observed them moving
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 485
more actively, though briefly, with little flocks of other small forest
birds. Their low calls, with slight carrying power, are rendered
by Eisenmann as a sibilant pséoo-see. In the nesting season in March
and April, when pairs may be seen, they make a curious, low rattling
sound by fluttering the wings slightly as they rest quietly on a perch.
On one occasion I saw two in an attractive display in which both
wings were suddenly extended and thrust upward vertically for a
second and then folded quickly.
Information on their breeding is detailed in an account by Skutch
(Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 534-538), mainly from observa-
tions on Barro Colorado Island between March and May. He writes
that ‘the pensile nest is attached to the end of a slender, drooping
twig, to a thin, dangling vine, or beneath a palm frond.”’ The female
worked alone fastening fibrous materials to the end of the hanging
support, and then pushed into this mass to make a rounded space
in which the nest was formed with additional fibers and bits of leaves.
One nest on Barro Colorado had a rounded base tapering upward for
a length of 230 mm to its point of suspension. “A roughly spherical
chamber occupied the lower third of the structure. This was entered
through a round doorway in the side, above which was a visorlike
projection” that afforded shelter from rain. Another nest was frailer
in construction. Two sets, each of two eggs, were seen, these being
white with scattered irregular blotches of chocolate that joined to
form a heavy wreath around the large end. Three of the eggs
measured 15.911.9, 15.5x11.9, and 15.9x11.1 mm. Incubation
and subsequent care of the young were duties of the female alone,
with no male in attendance. Young at hatching had pink skin and
were without down.
From his observations Skutch concluded that this flycatcher “does
not form pairs, and the female receives no aid in attending the nest.”
While Terenotriccus currently is placed near the genus Empidonax,
some of its actions, especially the elevation of the wings, are sug-
gestive of Pipromorpha. In preparing specimens, I have noted that
the pattern of the dorsal pterylosis is peculiar, as is that of the tarsus
with its slight indication of scutellation.
PRAEDO AUDAX Nelson: Black-billed Flycatcher,
Moscareta Piquiprieta
Praedo audax Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 3, September 24
(Sept. 27), 1912, p. 15. (Cana, 550 meters elevation, Cerro Pirre, Darién.)
Small; greenish olive above; yellowish on lower surface; two buff
wing bars ; a white line from lores to above eye.
486 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description—Length 120-126 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
dull greenish olive; side of head and lores dull, dark gray, with the
eyelids edged with white, and an obscure white line on the upper
margin of the loral space, running from the eye toward the base of
the nostril; wings dull black; middle and greater coverts and secon-
daries edged with buffy white producing two prominent bars; outer
webs of secondaries darker buff; tail feathers edged obscurely on
the outer webs toward the base with buffy brown; throat whitish;
breast with a broad band of greenish olive; lower breast and abdomen
clear light yellow, or in some yellowish white; edge of wing yellow.
A male, collected January 30, 1961, at 450 meters on the base of
Cerro Pirre, had the bill fuscous-black, changing to fuscous on the
base of the mandible; iris dark brown; tarsus and toes fuscous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from eastern Province of Panama,
Darién, and northern Colombia), wing 57.8-64.9 (60.3), tail 51.2-
57.6 (53.8), culmen from base 13.4-13.9 (13.6), tarsus 14.3-15.6
(14.9) mm.
Females (5 from eastern Province of Panama and northern Co-
lombia), wing 57.6-62.0 (59.4), tail 50.2-53.5 (51.1), culmen from
base 13.0-14.0 (13.3), tarsus 13.5-15.5 (14.5) mm.
Resident. Known in Panama near San Antonio, beyond Chepo on
the lower Rio Bayano, eastern Province of Panama, and on Cerro
Pirre, Darién.
The species was described from two males taken by E. A. Goldman
at 550 meters elevation near Cana, Cerro Pirre, March 19 and May
22, 1912. Another male, secured by Rex Benson at the type locality,
June 25, 1928, is in the collections of the Museum of Comparative
Zoology. A male and two females collected by Austin Smith are
marked “Port Antonio, Rio Chepo,” March 16, 20, and 23, 1927.
Two of these, male and female, are now in the Peabody Museum at
Yale, and the third, a female, in the American Museum of Natural
History. The locality is on the lower Rio Bayano, 5 kilometers south-
east of Chepo.
The only other record to date is of a male that I found on Janu-
ary 30, 1961, at 450 meters elevation on the southern slope of Cerro
Pirre, near the headwaters of the Rio Seteganti. It was with a
scattered group of small birds that ranged through the tops of the
lower undergrowth in heavy forest. It was alert and active in moving
through the branches, and I was interested to note that in perching,
the body was held less upright than is usual in species of Empidonax,
which otherwise it resembles superficially. The stomach of one of
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 487
those taken by Goldman was filled with remains of small- and
medium-size beetles, and bits of a hymenopteran.
The species is represented in collections made by Carriker in
Colombia, from Socarré, Department of Cordoba; Santa Rosa and
Colos6, Department of Bolivar; and Casacara, Department of
Magdalena.
The series seen as a whole includes five males and two females from
Panama, and five males and three females from northwestern Co-
lombia. Those from Panama appear slightly smaller, and also have
the breast band faintly grayer, the throat somewhat grayish, and the
yellow of the abdomen and sides slightly paler. Measurements of
the five males are as follows: wing 57.8-58.9 (58.1), tail 51.2-53.2
(52.2), culmen from base 13.4-13.9 (13.6), tarsus 14.7-15.2
(14.9) mm.
The Colombian birds, in which the throat is whiter, the breast band
faintly darker, and the yellow faintly brighter, measure as follows:
Wing 60.6-64.9 (62.4), tail 53.8-57.6 (55.4), culmen from base 13.5-
13.9 (13.6), tarsus 14.3-15.6 (14.9) mm.
With additional material it may prove that two subspecies may be
recognized.
Griscom has listed this species in the genus Aphanotriccus, but it
should be noted that while there is a general resemblance in form of
bill, and particularly in the small feet, the rictal bristles in audax are
definitely shorter and less developed. For the present I prefer to
recognize Praedo as a separate genus.
MYIOBIUS SULPHUREIPYGIUS AUREATUS Bangs: Sulphur-
rumped Flycatcher, Moscareta Rabadilla Azufrada
FIGuRE 42
Myiobius xanthopygus aureatus Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 4,
March 19, 1908, p. 27. (Divala, Chiriqui, Panama.)
Small; olive-green above, with yellow rump; a cinnamon-brown
band across breast ; abdomen yellow.
Description —Length 115-125 mm. Adult male, crown, hindneck,
back, and scapulars, dark greenish olive; posterior half of crown with
a partly concealed patch of yellow to slightly orange-yellow; rump
pale yellow; upper tail coverts and tail slightly brownish black;
side of head light olive-buff; lores similar but buff partly obscured by
dark tips of the feathers ; wings dusky, the primaries and secondaries
edged indistinctly with dull brown; chin and throat pale grayish
yellow; breast and sides tawny-brown; abdomen and flanks light
488 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
yellow, the flank feathers elongated; under tail coverts pale dull
yellow, mixed faintly with dull brown; axillars and under wing
coverts pale yellowish white; inner webs of wing feathers edged
lightly with pale dull brown (a marking absent in some).
Adult female, like the male, but usually with the area of the crown
FicurE 42.—Sulphur-rumped flycatcher, moscareta rabadilla azufrada,
Myiobwus sulphureipygiwus aureatus.
patch indicated by a wash of dull rufous-brown on the bases of
the feathers, rarely with a partly developed yellow patch.
Juvenile, similar to the adult, but with the brown of breast and
sides paler.
A female, taken at Armila, San Blas, February 22, 1963, had the
iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible dull black; rest of
mandible flesh color; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws dull
black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Panama), wing 64.5-68.3 (66.3),
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 489
tail 50.9-56.5 (52.9), culmen from base 13.3-14.8 (14.1), tarsus
17.7-18.6 (18.0) mm.
Females (10 from Panama), wing 59.0-62.4 (60.3), tail 48.0-54.8
(50.2), culmen from base 13.0-14.2 (13.5), tarsus 16.0-17.2
(16.5) mm.
Resident. Of irregular occurrence in forested areas of the Tropical
Zone, on the Pacific slope. Recorded from western Chiriqui from
near the Costa Rican boundary (Puerto Armuelles) east along the
base of the volcano (Bugaba, Divala), and to 1200 meters elevation
(Sereno) near the boundary with Costa Rica; along the mountains
in Veraguas (Calobre, Santa Fé) ; on Cerro Campana; Cerro Azul
and Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama; in eastern Darién
from Garachiné, the lower Sambi Valley, and the slopes of Cerro
Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna to Jaqué. On the Caribbean slope re-
corded on the upper Rio Changuena, Bocas del Toro; Calovévora in
northern Veraguas; El] Uracillo, northern Coclé; and the lower
Rio Chagres drainage (including the northern Canal Zone), eastward
through the Comarca de San Blas to the Colombian boundary.
While found frequently in company with Mytobius atricaudus, it
is more restricted in distribution, seeming to be less common both
in the drier regions of the Pacific slope, and the wetter ones of the
Caribbean side, in the area west of the Canal Zone.
These are active birds, often associated with moving groups of
other small forest species, usually as single individuals, and not with
others of its own kind. In its almost constant movements, it spreads
the tail and often droops the wings as it moves quickly through
trees and undergrowth. In this it is as active as any warbler. Its
food is small insects, taken on leaves or in the air. The only calls
that I have heard from it are sharply uttered chipping notes. Skutch,
in a detailed account of the species (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960,
pp. 539-551), rarely recorded it giving a low song of several repeated
notes. In southwestern Costa Rica he reported two aberrant, ap-
parently partially melanistic individuals in which the sides of the
breast were black.
The birds, as stated, ordinarily range alone, rarely associated in
pairs. Nest construction and care of the young are duties of the
female alone. The closed nest is attached to the tip of a pendant
branch, swinging free in some small open area, often above a forest
stream, from 2 or less to 6 or more meters above base level. In
Skutch’s observations the bird began by attaching fibers as a tuft at the
end of the supporting branch or vine. As work progressed the “lower
490 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
half was occupied by a rounded structure, entered through a circular
opening in its side . . . concealed in front and on both sides by an
apronlike projection continuous with the outer walls.” The two eggs
in a set were white to grayish white spotted with chocolate, most
heavily as a wreath at the middle or on the larger end. Size ranged
from 19.1 12.7,,.174.13,5, and 18.7 X,12.3,.mm:. Phe, young, at
hatching were dark in color of skin, and without down.
The body in these birds is strong and heavily muscled. The head
is rather large, and the neck slender so that in preparing specimens
it is difficult to expose the skull.
' In a review of the forms of Myiobius barbatus found in Pert,
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1042, 1939, p. 9), with only limited
discussion, remarked “‘that it seems probable, therefore, that su/-
phureipygus and aureatus deserve inclusion in the barbatus group”
and proceeded to list the specimens that he examined on this basis.
This assumption has been accepted currently by other authors, but
it is one that to me is not substantiated. The form of this group from
Panama is listed as a distinct species, pending additional information.
MYIOBIUS VILLOSUS VILLOSUS Sclater: Greater Black-tailed
Flycatcher, Moscareta Colinegra Grande
Myiobius villosus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 28, May 1860,
p. 93. (Nanegal, 1220 meters, west slope of Pichincha, Ecuador.)
Small; like Myiobius sulphureipygus aureatus but darker in color
and larger.
Description Length 130-140 mm. Rictal bristles very long ; when
pointed forward in adult males extending 4 mm beyond the tip of the
bill. Adult male, similar in general to Myiobius a. atricaudus but
larger, with longer rictal bristles and larger bill; duller green on sides
of crown, hindneck, scapulars, wing coverts, and back; rump slightly
paler yellow ; upper tail coverts and tail black; a large yellow crown
patch, shading in some to orange; wings dusky, secondaries and inner
primaries edged narrowly with dull brown; lores and sides of head
dusky, the auricular region with shaft lines of dull white; throat
dull buffy white; lower foreneck, upper breast, sides, and flanks dull
cinnamon ; center of lower breast and abdomen pale yellow; under
tail coverts rather dull yellowish white; tibiae olive-brown; axillars
and under wing coverts pale yellowish white; edge of wing dull
yellowish brown; inner webs of wing feathers edged narrowly with
dull cinnamon-brown.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 491
Female, slightly duller colored throughout, with lesser development
of rictal bristles ; crown patch dull cinnamon.
A male, taken on Cerro Tacarcuna, Darién, March 2, 1964, had the
iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of mandible
pale horn color; tarsus and toes dull brown; claws fuscous-brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién, Colombia, and Ecuador),
wing 69.8-72.6 (71.0), tail 58.1-61.8 (59.6), culmen from base 14.8-
16.1 (15.7), tarsus 18.1-19.4 (18.6) mm.
Females (7 from Darién and Colombia), wing 62.6-69.1 (65.1),
tail 53.8-58.8 (56.2), culmen from base 14.3-16.0 (15.2), tarsus
17.0-18.8 (17.9) mm.
Resident. Rare in forests in the Subtropical Zone on Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién.
The first specimen, a male, was caught March 2, 1964, in a mist
net set in green forest at 1460 meters elevation on the higher ridges
of Cerro Tacarcuna, near the international boundary with Colombia.
On March 7, C. O. Handley, Jr., captured a female in a net at
1250 meters spanning the channel of a small stream on the head-
waters of Rio Tacarcuna. These two specimens appear similar to
those of the northern Andes to the south in northwestern Colombia.
MYIOBIUS ATRICAUDUS Lawrence: Lesser Black-tailed
Flycatcher, Moscareta Colinegra Menor
Myiobius atricaudus Lawrence, Ibis, ser. 1, vol. 5, April 1863, p. 183. (Atlantic
slope, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small; greenish above, with yellow rump and black tail; pale yellow
below, with a faintly darker breast band.
Description—Length 118-130 mm. Adult male, above greenish
olive; crown faintly darker than back; a partly concealed yellow
crown patch; rump pale yellow; wings brownish black, with faint
olive edgings ; upper tail coverts and tail black; side of head slightly
paler than crown; chin and throat pale buffy yellow, changing to light
buffy olive on foreneck and upper breast; lower breast and abdomen
pale yellow; tibia and under tail coverts grayish olive; axillars and
under wing coverts dull white.
Adult female and immature male like adult male but with crown
patch smaller.
Adult males, iris dark brown; basal half of maxilla brownish black,
becoming black at the tip; mandible flesh color; tarsus dark brownish
neutral gray ; toes and claws brownish to dusky neutral gray.
Female, iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-
492 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
black ; rest of mandible dull whitish; tarsus and toes fuscous; claws
black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Canal Zone and western San
Blas), wing 59.5-64.6 (61.7), tail 56.2-60.8 (58.3), culmen from base
12.3-13.4 (13.0), tarsus 18.2-18.7 (18.3) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Colon and western San
Blas), wing 55.9-58.5 (57.0), tail 53.2-56.6 (54.8), culmen from
base 12.0-13.2 (12.5), tarsus 16.2-16.9 (16.5) mm.
Weight of adult male 11.6 grams (R. S. Crossin).
Resident. Locally common in Tropical Zone forests. Recorded on
the Pacific slope from eastern Chiriqui (San Félix) and Veraguas
eastward, through the Azuero Peninsula; one record for Coclé ( Nata,
December 28, 1888) ; appears again in the southern Canal Zone and
continues eastward through Darién to the Colombian boundary; re-
corded at Cana on Cerro Pirre. On the Caribbean side, recorded in
Bocas del Toro (Almirante), northern Veraguas (Calovévora),
northern Coclé (El Uracillo), and western Colon on the Rio Indio,
east through the northern Canal Zone, the Chagres Valley, and
Comarca de San Blas to the Colombian boundary.
As a species M. a. atricaudus seems more restricted in its distribu-
tion than M. s. aureatus, as it does not appear to range in mountain
areas above the lower foothills. Though not known at present in
western Chiriqui, it is possible that it may occur there as it is found
in southwestern Costa Rica. In Veraguas in 1953 I found it fairly
common from Zapotillo and Puerto Vidal east to the Rio San Pablo at
Sona. Aldrich collected it in 1932 on the Rio Mariato on the western
side of the Azuero Peninsula. On the eastern side and southern end
I secured specimens near Tonosi and Pedasi, Los Santos, and re-
corded it as common in Herrera. To the eastward it appears next in
the southern Canal Zone, and continues then through the Pacific slope
through eastern Darién.
The Black-tailed Flycatcher is a bird of woodland cover, found in
the undergrowth of heavy stands of forest, but ranging also into more
open areas, even those of small extent. It also is found in second-
growth stands when these have increased beyond thicket size. Nor-
mally the birds flit through undergrowth and the lower treecrown as
actively as any warbler. Males display constantly by opening the
tail fanlike, and drooping the wings. And often they posture and
turn so that the somewhat fluffed yellow rump shows as a bright spot
of color. The display mainly is one of motion and contrasting color.
In it they are strongly suggestive of the Redstart, Setophaga ruticilla,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 493
a species of eastern United States and Canada, common in Panama
as a winter visitor.
The food appears to be small insects, taken on the wing or seized
from leaves and twigs in active foraging. Only rarely have I observed
one resting quietly on a shaded perch in forest, in the manner usual
for most small flycatchers.
Its calls are rather sharp chipping sounds, without great carrying
power, varied rarely with low warbling notes. All are heard so seldom
that the main impression from acquaintance with the species is that
of its almost incessant activity.
In central Panama, Black-tailed Flycatchers were in breeding con-
dition by the beginning of April. Nesting may continue rather long,
as A. O. Gross (Wils. Bull., 1964, p. 251) recorded nests with eggs
on Barro Colorado Island in June, July, and as late as August 13,
1925.
They do not associate in pairs, and nest-building and care of eggs
and young is the task of the female alone. The nests are irregularly
rounded masses, roughly ball-like in form, suspended from the tip
of a slender branch or vine, over some open space, frequently above
a small forest stream or other water. They are made of rootlets,
soft fibers, small bits of leaf and other vegetation, with loose ends
hanging irregularly down from the sides, so that the whole suggests
a mass of plant material caught and held at random rather than the
planned structure of a bird. The entrance to the cup that holds the
eggs is at one side beneath hanging material so that the bird in incuba-
tion, eggs, or young are hidden from above and the side. Two eggs
in a set collected by E. A. Goldman at Portobelo, Colon, June 1, 1911,
have the ground color uniform vinaceous-cinnamon, with a narrow
wreath of snuff brown around the larger end, and fine dots of this
darker color scattered over the surface. In form they are subelliptical
with measurements of 17.1 12.0 and 17.9 12.6 mm. Another set
of two, also from Goldman, taken at Matachin, Canal Zone, on the
left bank of the Rio Chagres opposite Gamboa (now submerged in
Gatun Lake), May 6, 1911, are similar in form, but have the base
somewhat paler, light vinaceous-cinnamon, so that the dark band
around the larger end is in greater contrast. One egg measures
17.4 12.1 mm. The other is broken.
The species ranges from western Costa Rica (mainly in the south-
west) through Panama and across northern Colombia to the lower
Magdalena Valley. In a considerable series collected by Carriker in
Colombia some average faintly paler, but most appear too closely
494 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
similar to those of Panama to warrant separation. In an early survey
Todd (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, 1917, p. 4) proposed
the name suffusus with the type locality Turbaco, Bolivar. But in a
later review (idem, vol. 35, 1922, p. 35) Todd himself was uncertain
as to the validity of such a race.
MYIOPHOBUS FASCIATUS FURFUROSUS (Thayer and Bangs):
Bran-colored Flycatcher, Moscareta Pechirrayada
Myiobius naevius furfurosus Thayer and Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 46,
September 1905, p. 152. (Isla Saboga, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Panama.)
Small, brown above, breast streaked, wings black with two white
bars.
Description —Length 110-120 mm. Adult male, above dull cin-
namon-brown; crown somewhat darker, with an extensive, mainly
concealed yellow crown patch, tipped lightly distally with dark orange ;
rump paler, sandy brown; wings black; greater and middle coverts
tipped rather broadly with grayish or buffy white, forming two well-
marked bands; inner primaries and secondaries edged and tipped
with dull white; tail deep grayish brown; outermost rectrix and
terminal margins of others dull buffy white; side of head and neck
grayish brown, lores and feathers of eyelids partly grayish or buffy
white; anterior under surface pale yellowish buff, with the abdomen
and under tail coverts more yellow; breast and sides streaked heavily
with grayish brown; flanks and tibiae cinnamon-brown; axillars and
under wing coverts pale buff, with edge of the wing darker; inner
webs of wing feathers pale dull buff.
Adult female, similar to the male, but with the hidden crown patch
definitely smaller ; streaking on breast and sides less extensive.
Juvenile, upper surface and wing bars rufous-brown; without a
crown patch.
Immature, somewhat duller rufous-brown on back, wing markings
and edgings, and tips of tail; more rufous-orange in the crown patch.
The iris is brown, maxilla black, mandtble flesh-colored, and tarsus
and toes black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Isla San José, Chiriqui, Vera-
guas, and Canal Zone), wing 53.0-57.9 (55.0), tail 45.1-52.0 (49.7),
culmen from base 12.2-13.6 (13.0), tarsus 15.5-16.5 (16.0) mm.
Females (10 from Islas San José and Saboga, Chiriqui, Veraguas,
Coclé, Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 51.1-55.4 (52.4),
tail 45.6-49.2 (47.6), culmen from base 12.1-13.5 (12.5), tarsus
15.3-16.2 (15.7) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 495
Resident. Found locally in the Tropical Zone on the Pacific slope
from western Chiriqui (to 1340 meters elevation near El Volcan),
eastward in eastern Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, and the Canal Zone to
the lower Rio Bayano (San Antonio) ; on the Caribbean slope in the
lower Chagres Valley in the Canal Zone. (To date it has not been
recorded on the Azuero Peninsula.) Islas del Rey, Saboga, San José,
and La Vivienda, in the Archipiélago de las Perlas.
In general appearance and actions these small birds appear similar
to species of the genus Empidonax. They are found usually at the
borders of thickets, often in brush-grown valleys but not in heavy
forest. Here they rest quietly on watch for flying insects which they
take on the wing. They also visit berry-bearing shrubs to eat the
drupes. The stomach of one shot near Corozal in the Canal Zone in
mid-June held fragments of several small beetles, a Lygaeid, ants,
and other hymenoptera.
As the birds rest, the tail often is vibrated. The usual call is a low
wheesp varied to a quickly uttered little song, whee seety seety.
Eisenmann, in the suburbs of Panama City, heard them giving a
clear but monotonous repetition of a single note, weeb, weeb, weeb.
Females, that I thought may have been near their nests, as they rested
on a low perch, occasionally fluttered the wings and uttered low
chattering calls.
While found usually in the lowlands in western Chiriqui, they
ranged to 1340 meters near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo. In eastern
Chiriqui, Mrs. Davidson secured one near Chame. In Veraguas,
Arcé collected them at Calovévora, which indicates occurrence on the
Caribbean slope. On the Pacific side they have been found at Santa
Fé, Castillo, and San Francisco. I saw and collected several near
Sona, and near Rio de Jesus. In Coclé, they ranged among bushes
in an abandoned field near El Valle, and below, in the edge of the
western sector of the Province of Panama along the road above
Espino. They were in pairs regularly and were in breeding condition
in April and May.
In the Perlas Islands they were found on Isla San José, but we
did not fully realize their abundance until access trails to remote
areas of the island had been completed by the engineers. W. W.
Brown, Jr., collected the first specimens on Islas del Rey and Saboga;
Murphy (Auk, 1945, p. 117) secured a male on Isla Vivienda, May
23,1941,
This form extends to the west beyond Chiriqui in southwestern
Costa Rica, where Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 340-
496 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
348) has made interesting observations on their nesting. Nest build-
ing began in late March and April. The birds ranged in pairs, with
the male regularly in attendance, but with building and incubation
by the female alone. When the young hatched, the male aided in
bringing food, given in part, however, to the female. The nests were
small cups suspended in forks at the end of small branches. Oc-
casionally attachment was to twigs or to a vine on one side and a leaf
on the other. The latter ordinarily failed when the leaf connection
shriveled. Males were active in nest defense, regularly threatening
much larger birds, when however their irritation usually was dis-
regarded.
The eggs, two in a set, “are dull white or pale buff, with a wreath
of reddish brown speckles or blotches around the thick end, and
sometimes a few spots of the same color scattered over the remaining
surface.’ Measurements of 12 averaged 17.3X13.0 mm, with ex-
tremes of 19.1 x 13.5 and 16.3 11.9 mm. The young bore gray down
at hatching.
The nominate form, M. f. fasciatus, found in Colombia, is some-
what larger, darker in color above, whiter, less yellowish below, but
with somewhat heavier streaking on the breast. The following
measurements of 10 males from northern Colombia, in comparison
with those above of furfurosus, will serve to indicate the slight size
difference :
Males (10 from Antioquia, Magdalena, Guajira, and Norte de
Santander), wing 58.2-64.0 (60.9), tail 51.6-57.2 (55.4), culmen
from base 12.4-13.5 (12.8), tarsus 16.6-17.6 (17.1) mm.
ONYCHORHYNCHUS MEXICANUS FRATERCULUS Bangs:
Royal Flycatcher, Atrapamoscas Real
Figure 43
Onychorhynchus mexicanus fraterculus Bangs, Proc. New England Zodl. Club,
vol. 3, March 31, 1902, p. 86. (Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia.)
Medium size; brown, with a prominent crest, reddish orange in
male, orange in female.
Description.—Length 155-170 mm. A conspicuous, elongate crest,
expanding laterally. Adult male, crest centrally orange-red, tipped
with black spots, edged distally with violet to steel blue; forehead
narrowly dusky brown, with a whitish spot on the basal feathering
back of the nostril; side of crest, back of head, back, upper rump,
scapulars and wings olive-brown; middle and greater wing coverts
and tertials with small distal triangular spots of buff ; lower rump and
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 497
upper tail coverts buffy yellow; tail tawny-ochraceous, brownish
distally, tipped lightly with buff; chin and throat buffy white, rest of
under surface ochre-yellow ; upper breast barred lightly with olive-
brown; tibia barred narrowly and spotted with olive-brown; axillars
and under wing coverts pale buff; inner margins of wing feathers
pale cinnamon-buff.
\
SS
iN
Wi)
NN
NHN
) N 1) WINN
YEN
Ry
Ficure 43.—Royal flycatcher, atrapamoscas real, Onychorhynchus mexicanus
fraterculus, male.
Adult female, with the crest orange to orange-yellow; otherwise
like the male.
Juvenile, crown feathers somewhat elongated in a rounded crest
that is light orange basally, barred distally with black, and tipped with
buff; back of head and hindneck pale buff, barred with dusky ; back
and scapulars light olive-brown, barred distally with black and buff ;
rump buff; rectrices pale cinnamon-buff, with the outer webs shading
to dusky ; under surface pale cinnamon-buff, with the breast barred
and spotted with dusky.
498 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Immature, both sexes, back and scapulars tipped narrowly with
buff and barred with black.
A female, taken at Pucro, Darién, February 3, 1964, had the iris
mouse brown; maxilla fuscous; mandibular rami dull honey yellow;
rest of mandible dull wood brown, changing to horn color on the
basal half of the gonys ; tarsus and toes honey yellow; claws yellowish
brown; inside of mouth, including the tongue, orange.
Measurements—Males (19 from Costa Rica and Panama), wing
82.4-86.7 (84.2), tail 65.2-69.7 (67.3), culmen from base 24.3-28.0
(25.6), tarsus 16.3-17.8 (16.9) mm.
Females (17 from Costa Rica and Panama), wing 75.0-78.8
(77.3), tail 58.0-66.4 (61.9), culmen from base 22.6-26.2 (24.2),
tarsus 15.4-16.7 (16.0) mm.
Resident. Found locally, singly or in pairs, in Tropical Zone
forests and thickets, both original and second-growth.
The Royal Flycatcher is widely distributed on both Pacific and
Caribbean slopes throughout the lowlands and foothills, frequently
near small streams. In Chiriqui, Arcé sent specimens to Salvin from
the base of the volcano, and Mina de Chorcha. W. W. Brown, Jr.,
in July 1901, collected three at Bugaba, and Mrs. Davidson took a
female near San Félix in the eastern area of the province. In
Veraguas, Arcé collected it near Santa Fé, and Benson at Chitra.
Eisenmann reports seeing it at El Valle in Coclé. The only record
from the Azuero Peninsula is a male that I collected, and another
that I saw, on March 17, 1957, on the Quebrada Escota, near Pedasi,
Los Santos. W. W. Brown, Jr., secured four near Panama City in
May 1904. Elsewhere in the southern Canal Zone it has been re-
corded at Curundu, Albrook Field and Paraiso. From here eastward
to Colombia there are numerous records, including Cana, on Cerro
Pirre, and the base of Cerro Tacarcuna. On the Caribbean side, in
Bocas del Toro, I collected a female in Water Valley south of
Almirante, January 20, 1958. It is known in northern Veraguas from
Calovévora, and in northern Coclé I found it at El Uracillo on the
upper Rio Indio in February and March 1952. There are numerous
records for the northern Canal Zone, and it has been found in eastern
Colon. In western San Blas, in January and February 1957, it was
fairly common in the borders of swampy woodland near Mandinga,
and Wedel collected it at Ranchon and Puerto Obaldia near the
boundary with Colombia.
Royal Flycatchers range ordinarily in heavily shaded undergrowth,
where they rest quietly with body erect in the usual flycatcher pose,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 499
on the open perches common to birds of this family. Occasionally
one may fly out to capture an insect on the wing, or from a branch
or leaf. But rarely have I noted them active in movement. It is
certain that often they are not observed because of the dim light in
which they rest and their rather inactive habits. The voice is so
low that it attracts little attention. A female called pree-o rather
plaintively. Another varied this to tsee-a, others uttered plaintive,
whistled calls.
They appear to be quite sedentary, as one banded by Horace Loftin
near Curundu, Canal Zone, on February 23, 1964, was recovered two
years later, on February 25, and again on April 1, 1966, in the same
area. One banded near Gamboa by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
in November 1964, was caught again on October 6, 1966.
The handsome crest normally shows merely as a line of color on
the back of the head, as the birds perch or fly. Barbour (Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 216) described a display, seen in two
wounded birds, in which the “mouth opened wide, the great crest
fully expanded, and then the head was slowly waved from side to
side.” I noted this action personally in a wing-tipped bird at the base
of Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama, March 15, 1950. As
I held the bird in my hand it spread the crest widely and threw it far
forward, at the same time compressing the nape feathers laterally into
a straight sharp edge down the back of the neck. The bird then
rotated the head from side to side in a swinging motion during which
it turned through an arc of 180°. With this the bill was opened widely,
and the tongue flicked, a curious and interesting performance. Dr.
Eisenmann has given me notes of similar displays as birds caught in
mist nets are handled. While this may be regarded as a threat func-
tion, it may be a nervous reaction or presented otherwise in normal
courtship display.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 516-533) found that
nest construction, incubation, and the care of the young were by the
female alone. While the male regularly accompanied his mate, his
activities were solely those of a guardian, in which he attacked in-
truders. Young are hatched with the skin bare, without down.
Lawrence made the first report of the curious nest of this species
from notes supplied by Galbraith (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York,
vol. 7, 1862, p. 329). One found by E. A. Goldman in heavy jungle
near Matachin, in the Chagres Valley near Gamboa (now submerged
in Gatun Lake), on May 6, 1911, hung pendant from a slender twig
of a small tree above a stream in a narrow ravine. It was formed from
500 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
leaves and stems wound loosely around the branch for a distance of a
meter. The nest cup was in a somewhat enlarged portion below the
center, with the opening 60 mm wide, about 130 mm in diameter, and
the cavity about 60 mm deep. The whole was frail and unfinished in
appearance. It held two eggs, one of which was broken. The other is
subelliptical in form, with the entire shell suffused with dull reddish
brown as a heavy covering over most of the surface, except for the
lower quarter. It measures 20.4 14.4 mm. Another nest, collected
by Storrs Olson and J. Wiese, May 9, 1966, at Mile 12, between
Gamboa and Summit Gardens, Canal Zone, hung pendant from the
tip of a branch 2 meters above a small stream. It is slender and
cylindrical, about 80 cm long by 10 to 15 cm in diameter, made of long
bits of rootlets, grass stems, and other slender fibers, through which
dry leaves and other bits of vegetable material are interspersed, the
whole interlaced loosely but firmly, and narrowed at the lower end to
a tail-like streamer. Immediately above this is an opening in the side
to the ball-shaped nest, which is wholly enclosed. In this there was a
fledgling bird with wings beginning to develop, and an addled egg.
This egg, closely similar in color, pattern, and subelliptical form to
the one taken by Goldman, measures 19.7 X 15.2 mm.
As a species this flycatcher ranges from southern México through
Central America to central Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
The race fraterculus, described from the Santa Marta region of
northern Colombia, differs only slightly from the nominate form. In
average size it is somewhat smaller, and in Colombia is somewhat
paler buff on the lower surface, with the dark streaking on the breast
heavier. Those found from Costa Rica through Panama, while in size
they average about like those of Colombia, are variable in color
and marking of the lower surface. For comparison there is included
a set of measurements of the nominate form, O. m. mexicanus:
Males (13 from Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca, and eastern Guatemala),
wing 86.7-93.6 (89.8), tail 70.5-76.0 (73.4), culmen from base 25.2-
29.3 (27.8), tarsus 17.4-18.7 (17.9) mm.
Females (7 from Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca, and eastern Guate-
mala), wing 79.8-83.5 (81.3), tail 65.0-69.6 (67.1), culmen from
base 24.8-26.1 (25.5, average of 6), tarsus 17.0-18.0 (17.2) mm.
De Schauensee (Birds of South America, 1966, p. 359) has in-
cluded all of the Royal Flycatchers from México through Panama
as races under the species name Onychorhynchus coronatus (Miller),
a proposal that should have further study where the two groups,
mexicanus and coronatus, meet in southeastern Colombia and eastern
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 501
Venezuela. While undoubtedly the two are closely related, the typical
coronatus population differs from that of mexicanus in being de-
cidedly darker. In addition, it is heavily cross-barred on the lower
surface, including the under tail coverts, has the tail shorter, and the
bill shorter and narrower.
Measurements of O. c. coronatus are as follows: Males (25 from
southeastern Colombia, eastern Venezuela, Guyana and northeastern
Brazil), wing 72.0-80.9 (77.3), tail 55.0-63.6 (59.5), culmen from
base 21.0-25.0 (22.7), tarsus 14.4-15.9 (15.3) mm.
Females (7 from Amapa and Para), wing 69.0-74.2 (71.5), tail
55.0-60.0 (57.9), culmen from base 21.3-24.0 (22.2), tarsus 14.0-
15.8 (14.6) mm.
From available data the considerable series of the two groups ap-
pear so clearly distinct that mexicanus, with its southern race
fraterculus, is treated here as a separate species.
PLATYRINCHUS CORONATUS SUPERCILIARIS Lawrence:
Golden-crowned Spade-bill, Piquichato Coronadorado
Figure 44
Platyrhynchus superciliaris Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 5, no. 18, April 1863, p. 184.
(Lion Hill, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small; short tail, broad, flat bill; pale, with throat yellow.
Description —Length 80-90 mm. With stiff bristles at the side of
the bill. Adult male, center of crown yellow, bordered broadly by
russet-brown, with a narrow line of black at either side; forehead dull
olive, with shaft lines of dull yellowish white; lores dull yellowish
white ; hindneck, back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts, and lesser
wing coverts plain olive; wings, including middle and greater coverts,
dusky, the feathers edged narrowly with light brown; a narrow
superciliary and circlet around eye pale yellow; cheeks olive-yellow,
bordered above and below by patches of black; lower surface light
yellow, with the sides, upper breast, flanks, and tibiae washed with
olive; axillars and under wing coverts grayish white; inner webs of
wing feathers edged narrowly with dull brown.
Adult female, similar, but with crown cinnamon-rufous or orange-
rufous. The crown patch of the male is indicated in some by a
central tinge of yellow.
Juvenile, with the crown olive, somewhat darker than the greenish
olive of the back, without central markings; side of head and line
over eye buff, with the dark patches as in adult; under surface light
yellow to gray.
502 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
A male, collected near the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, on
the Rio Pequeni above Madden Lake, March 6, 1961, had the iris
mouse brown; maxilla black; mandible neutral gray, with a narrow
line of dull white along the anterior two-thirds of the cutting edge,
and on the distal hook on the maxilla ; tarsus neutral gray tinged with
pale brown on the upper half ; toes and claws neutral gray. In another
male, at Armila, San Blas, February 22, 1963, the iris was dark
Figure 44.—Golden-crowned spade-bill, piquichato coronadorado, Platyrinchus
coronatus supercilsaris.
brown; hook on tip of maxilla, and mandible dull yellowish gray ; rest
of maxilla black ; gape honey yellow ; tongue and corneous area of the
inside of the mouth surrounding the internal nares honey yellow; rest
of inside of mouth, extending on the inner surface of the mandible
back to the level of the tip of the tongue, black, with a narrow outer
line of dull grayish white ; tarsus and toes neutral gray ; claws neutral
gray tipped with dull white.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Bocas del Toro, Pacific slope of
Veraguas, Province of Panama, and Darién), wing 53.7-57.4 (55.7),
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 503
tail 21.0-25.5 (23.7) culmen from base 11.2-13.3 (12.3), tarsus
13.5-14.9 (14.0) mm.
Females (10 from Pacific slope of Veraguas, Province of Panama,
Darién, and San Blas), wing 49.4-53.9 (51.3), tail 19.2-22.8 (20.8),
culmen from base 11.7-12.9 (12.3, average of 9), tarsus 12.7-14.4
(13.5, average of 9) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common in forested areas in the Tropical
Zone from the Canal Zone eastward through Darién and San Blas
(to Puerto Obaldia) ; recorded in lesser numbers through western
Panama (Santa Fé, Bugaba) to the Costa Rican boundary; to 850
meters on Cerro Campana, and 900 meters on Cerro Pirre.
These birds are small in size but heavy in body, the relatively
large wings and abbreviated tail presenting an unusual outline as the
bird rests on a low branch near the ground, erect in usual flycatcher
pose. The short, broad bill may be visible in outline as they turn the
head. In active movements, when they may cling momentarily to
the side of an upright stem, they may suggest an ant-shrike. Usually
they are encountered singly, or in pairs, rarely, with scattered compa-
nies of other forest birds. And more rarely, among the birds captur-
ing insects over raiding ant swarms. Normal haunts are swampy
woodlands, or elsewhere low down near the ground in heavily shaded
forest. The usual call is a chirping sound, suggesting that of some
insect. This may be varied by a low trill, a common song in the
forests that they frequent, but one with slight carrying power, heard
only when the bird is near. As they move about the wings may be
fluttered occasionally.
The oil gland in these birds, for their size, seemed unusually large.
In a female taken at the mouth of the Rio Paya, February 15, 1959,
the transverse diameter across the lobes was 15 mm.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 332-339) describes a
display, apparently unique among flycatchers, in which the bird in
flight produces with its wings “a peculiar sound somewhat like
that . . . made by twanging a tightly stretched rubber band.” Car-
riker (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 729) described the nest,
seen in Costa Rica, as a well-formed cup placed from 1 to 2 meters
above the ground in a small upright fork made of “fine bark fibres,
moss, and rootlets, and lined with coarse, black hair-like fibres of one
of the common ferns. A tuft of fibres of irregular length trailed
from the bottom, and the outer walls were slightly decorated with
lichens and spider-webs.”” Skutch found that the female alone built
the nest and incubated the eggs, but that the male aided in. feeding
504 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the young. The two eggs that make the set are described as dull white
to buff, with spots or blotches of light or bright brown, and lilac.
Skutch gives the average in 16 eggs as 16.4X13.4 mm. The young
at hatching are pink-skinned and without down.
James A. Karr, near Gamboa, found a nest with two eggs on
July 4, 1969. A nest of similar form and location, apparently that of
the previous year, was seen nearby.
As a species, Platyrinchus coronatus ranges from northern Hon-
duras through Central America and South America to Brazil and
northern Bolivia. In the four subspecies currently recognized, the
race superciliaris is distinguished by brighter yellow on the lower
surface, and paler coloration on the back.
PLATYRINCHUS MYSTACEUS NEGLECTUS (Todd): White-
throated Spade-bill, Piquichato Gargantiblanco
Platytriccus albogularis neglectus Todd, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 32,
June 27, 1919, p. 114. (La Colorada, Boyaca, Colombia. )
Small; tail short; bill broad, flat; darker, with throat white.
Description—Length 90-95 mm. Adult male, crown dark olive,
with a large, partly concealed central area of bright yellow, in some
tinged with buff, the feathers in part tipped with olive ; hindneck, back,
scapulars, lesser wing coverts, alula, and rump brownish olive to
somewhat reddish brown; upper tail coverts averaging somewhat
paler ; wings dusky, edged with somewhat reddish brown; middle and
greater coverts tipped with brown, forming rather indistinct wing
bars ; primary coverts dull black ; tail dusky, edged lightly with brown;
lores and side of head dusky; a dull white streak on upper edge of
loral area; a prominent ring around eye, and an indistinct spot on the
auricular area, brownish buff; bare edge of the somewhat enlarged
eyelids, black; line down ramal area buff; throat and foreneck white;
chest, sides, and flanks buffy brown; lower breast and abdomen pale
yellow ; under tail coverts dull white; axillars and under wing coverts
yellowish white, the latter centrally dull brown; inner webs of wing
feathers edged with dull brown.
Adult female, similar to male, but crown patch lacking, or, rarely,
very slightly indicated.
Juvenile, without crown patch; more reddish brown above.
A female, taken at El Volcan, Chiriqui, March 15, 1965, had the
iris very dark reddish brown; cutting edge of mandible dull yellowish
white; rest of bill black; gape, a line inside the mouth around the
inner edge of the mandible, and the tongue dull light orange; tarsus
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 505
and toes pale neutral gray; claws brownish white. A male, collected
on the same day, was similar.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Darién), wing 58.2-
62.3 (60.1), tail 27.6-32.8 (31.3), culmen from base 12.5-13.9
(13.2), tarsus 17.0-18.5 (17.9) mm.
Females (10 from Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, and Darién), wing
52.3-58.9 (54.5), tail 20.7-30.8 (27.2), culmen from base 12.4-13.8
(13.0), tarsus 15.4-16.9 (16.1) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common in forested areas in the upper
Tropical and lower Subtropical Zones. Chiriqui: Cerro Punta, El
Volcan, Barriles, Boquete, Lérida, Quiel, Cerro Flores. Bocas del
Toro: in the higher elevations on the Holcomb Trail, beyond Boquete
(with one record from the lowlands near Almirante). Veraguas:
Calovévora, Santa Fé, Chitra, Calobre, Cerro Montuosa, northwestern
Azuero Peninsula. Province of Panama: Cerro Compana. Darién:
Garachiné, Cerro Pirre (Cana), old Tacarcuna village site, Cerro
Nali, Cerro Tacarcuna (1250 meters), La Laguna (900 meters).
Specimens in the Salvin-Godman collection in the British Museum
were taken in Veraguas by Arcé at Calovévora on the Caribbean
slope, and Calobre on the Pacific side. Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon-
don, 1870, p. 196) in an early account of Arcé’s collections, listed it
also from Chitra, where it was taken later by Benson.
This species, rather closely similar to Platyrinchus coronatus, is
readily identified by its white throat and olive (olive and yellow in
the male) crown, with no trace of cinnamon-brown. In the hand it
appears slightly heavier in body, but otherwise is similar in form.
Like its companion, found mainly at lower elevations, it ranges in
the undergrowth in heavy forest alone or in pairs. A male, captured
in a mist net, in my hand expanded the yellow area in the crown
laterally and vertically so that it made a handsome show. I noted
them moving rather quickly through the undergrowth when feeding,
uttering a sharp, chipping call.
A single bird, a female, taken January 22, 1958, at sea level in a
dark, wet thicket in Water Valley near the bay at Almirante, Bocas
del Toro, is the only record for this locality. I found these birds
elsewhere only above 900 meters elevation in mountain areas, both
in Chiriqui and in Darién.
Dr. Alexander Skutch (in litteris, 10/15/70), has sent me the
following description of a nest found April 21, 1938, near Vara
Blanca, Costa Rica, at 1/00 meters. The “neat, compact structure,
shaped like an inverted cone, rested in a V-shaped, upright crotch in a
506 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
slender shrub growing in forest. The outside was plastered all over
with thin, papery pieces of decaying leaves, white in color, or nearly
so, making the exterior very light-colored and conspicuous. Some of
these leaves hung down untidily, draping around the supporting stem.
There was also a fragment of snake skin in the outer layer of the
nest. The middle layer of nest material was of light-colored plant
material, with a lining of black fibers that contrasted sharply with the
white exterior. The nest was 75 mm. high (not including the loose,
dangling tail), with the interior cup 70 mm. in diameter, 40 mm. wide
and 30 mm. deep. The single egg (probably the set was incomplete)
was white, with a yellowish tinge (like old parchment), with a scarcely
perceptible wreath of a faint rufous tone. It measured 19.1 x 14.7
mm. Two days later the nest was empty.”
In preparing specimens, the relatively large size of the eyes was
obvious, as they projected laterally considerably beyond the side of
the cranium. In one, the width of the skull with the skin removed
was 14 mm, with the transverse diameter 10 mm.
The species, divided into numerous subspecies, ranges from south-
ern México through Central America and South America to Para-
guay, and Misiones in northeastern Argentina.
CNIPODECTES SUBBRUNNEUS PANAMENSIS Zimmer: Brown
Flycatcher, Moscareta Castana
Cmipodectes subbrunneus panamensis Zimmer, Amer. Mus. Nov., No. 1043,
September 20, 1939, p. 10. (Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Size medium ; dull brown, whitish or yellowish on abdomen.
Description —Length 140 mm in female to 180 mm in male. Basal
phalanx, and proximal third of second phalanx of middle toe adherent
to basal segment of outer toe. Adult male with the seventh to the
tenth (outermost) primaries with basal section of shafts somewhat
arched and twisted, and the distal area of the outer webs modified in
structure. Male and female alike in color; crown, back, scapulars,
and rump olive-brown; upper tail coverts and tail russet; wings
dusky ; middle coverts tipped, and greater coverts tipped and edged
with buffy brown; inner secondaries edged broadly with buff, chang-
ing to buffy brown externally; primaries margined narrowly with
grayish to grayish brown; throat and upper foreneck indistinctly
whitish; sides of neck and breast olive-brown, usually somewhat
paler and brighter than back; abdomen dull buffy white to pale
yellow ; under tail coverts dull cinnamon-brown; axillars and under
wing coverts pale buffy brown to pale cinnamon; inner margins of
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 507
under surface of secondaries cinnamon-buff, changing to whitish on
the primaries.
An adult male, taken at Mandinga, San Blas, February 12, 1957,
had the iris light wood brown; maxilla black; mandible flesh color ;
gape, inside of mouth, and tongue bright honey yellow, with two
elongate, dusky spots on either side of the premaxillar area, anterior
to the inner narial opening ; tarsus and toes dull neutral gray. In an-
other male (from the form of the wing still in its first year of age)
collected at the old Tacarcuna village site, Darién, March 7, 1964, the
iris was orange brown, the maxilla black, mandible ivory white, tarsus
and toes brownish neutral gray. A female, at the mouth of the Rio
Tuquesa, Darién, March 28, 1959, had the iris brownish orange;
maxilla black; mandible flesh color; gape and inside of mouth, in-
cluding the tongue, rather dull orange (without the spots described
in the adult male) ; tarsus and toes neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Coclé, Colon, Province of Pa-
nama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 88.7-97.1 (93.4), tail 78.5-86.5
(82.2), culmen from base 17.8-18.8 (18.3), tarsus 17.9-18.9 (18.5)
mm.
Females (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, Province of Panama, and
Darién), wing 71.3-76.1 (73.4), tail 62.8-67.8 (65.8), culmen from
base 16.5-17.8 (17.2), tarsus 16.5-17.6 (16.9) mm.
Resident. Uncommon, in forested areas in the Tropical Zone; on
the Pacific slope from the southern Canal Zone and Chepo eastward
through Darién; on the Atlantic side from the valley of the Rio Indio
(El Uracillo, northern Coclé; Chilar, western Colon) eastward
through San Blas.
Usually these birds rest quietly in the undergrowth on low perches
where they may be partly concealed among leaves. They may allow
close approach, and, unless attention is attracted by the curious,
explosive call, may not be seen. The note has a trilling, or rattling
quality that is difficult to describe. While frequently alone, they also
are found in pairs, when, if seen clearly, the larger size of the males is
obvious. Both sexes have a display, noted occasionally, in which one
wing is extended straight up, full length above the back, like that
noted commonly in Pipromorpha. The female, as stated, is appre-
ciably smaller than the adult male. Males in their first year may be
smaller than those fully adult.
Dr. Alexander Skutch (in litteris 10/15/70) has kindly sent me
the following account of an observation of this species, on Barro
Colorado Island :
508 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
March 28, 1935, I found one building a nest in moderately heavy forest near a
small stream. It was about 2 meters from the ground, attached to a long, slender
aerial root, hanging down from high in the treetop. Newly begun, it was an
accumulation of dried inflorescences of Myriocarpa yzabalensis, a species of
Urticaceae. The nest grew slowly, as it was April 4 before the bird began to
separate the dangling fibers to form a nesting chamber. And on April 17 the
builder was still lining this chamber. When nearly finished the nest slipped
from the end of the slender supporting root and fell. Although I fastened it in
its original position, it was abandoned.
The structure had grown to a length of nearly a meter, with a diameter of
175 mm. Midway the material had been spread apart to form the nesting
chamber. In the small proportion of total bulk actually occupied by the nesting
chamber this nest may be compared to that of the Royal Flycatcher. It differed
chiefly in its more homogeneous material, more regular form, and greater
diameter.
Only one bird, assumed to be a female, worked on it.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1043, 1939, pp. 10-12, fig. 1) has
described the curious curved form of the wing. In this the four outer
primaries of the adult male “have the basal part of the shafts arcuate,
very strongly on the tenth. In addition, the terminal part of these
feathers is twisted upward and outward. All of the primaries are
more or less twisted in shape and position, so that in the closed wing
their outer margins are lifted away from each other, and come into
close contact only basally and near their tips. The 7th and 8th
primaries are further modified in another way. About two-thirds of
the distance toward the tip of the feather the outer web is abruptly
narrowed and the inner web equally abruptly widened, with a spot
of brighter color and a slight disintegration of the web on the outer
web at the point of change. On the inner web... there is a dark
submarginal line. . . . Along this line, the vane of the feather bends
readily, but between it and the shaft it is unusually stiff.”
Although I have had these birds frequently under observation, I
have noted no apparent use of this unusual structure.
TOLMOMYIAS SULPHURESCENS FLAVO-OLIVACEUS
(Lawrence): Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Moscareta Azufrada
Rhynchocyclus flavo-olivaceus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8,
May 1863, p. 8. (Lion Hill Station, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Rather small; bill broad; back olive-green; abdomen yellow; tail
slightly longer.
Description—Length 120-129 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
and hindneck somewhat grayish olive-green; back, scapulars, lesser
wing coverts, rump and upper tail coverts bright olive-green; wings
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 509
dusky ; outer webs of greater and middle coverts tipped and edged
with sulphur yellow; primaries edged with yellowish olive-green, the
edgings changing on the secondaries to light yellow; tail grayish
brown, edged with olive-green; a grayish white line above the lores
extending to a narrow ring around the eye on upper and lower eye-
lids; an indistinct dusky spot at anterior angle of eye; auricular
region dull olive-green, with shaft lines of pale yellow; chin and
throat light yellowish gray, changing to light yellowish olive-green
on upper breast and sides; rest of under surface clear sulphur yellow ;
edge of wing bright sulphur yellow; axillars, under wing coverts and
edgings of primaries pale yellow.
A female, shot at El Copé, Coclé, February 24, 1962, had the iris
light grayish brown; maxilla black ; mandible ivory-white ; tarsus light
fuscous-brown; tips of claws black; inside of mouth with palate
black to fuscous; lower surface, ivory-white (of the same shade as
the outer surface of the mandible).
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, Los
Santos, Canal Zone, and Province of Panama), wing 63.8-69.5
(65.2), tail 52.3-58.6 (55.2), culmen from base 13.3-15.9 (14.4),
tarsus 17.5-18.8 (18.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, Los Santos, Canal
Zone, and Province of Panama), wing 60.2-64.7 (63.4), tail 51.0-
55.5 (53.6), culmen from base 14.2-15.4 (14.6), tarsus 17.5-18.5
(17.9) mm.
Weight of 2, 11 grams (G.V.N. Powell).
Resident. Fairly common locally ; on the Pacific slope, from western
Chiriqui, mainly in the lowlands of the Tropical Zone, but to 1600
meters above Boquete, east through Veraguas, Coclé, and the Azuero
Peninsula to the lower Rio Bayano (Chepo), Chiman, and the Rio
Majé. On the Caribbean side from the Rio Indio, western Colon,
through the northern Canal Zone, to Mandinga, western San Blas.
They are found mainly in open forest, usually in undergrowth, but
occasionally in taller trees, and are encountered also in open scrub and
along the borders of clearings. In eastern Chiriqui I found them near
the coast at Las Lajas and also on the Rio San Félix, where they had
been taken earlier by Mrs. Davidson. In the early collections made by
Arcé they were recorded from Santa Fé and Calovévora in Veraguas,
and later by Benson at San Francisco, FE] Villano, and Chitra. In
1953 I found them fairly common near Sona, especially along the
Rio San Pablo. In 1951 at El Valle, Coclé, they ranged in the open
forest of Cerro Gaital, and farther east in western Province of
510 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Panama on Cerro Campana and at the base of Cerro Chame. East
through the Canal Zone they occurred along the Rio Pacora, at La
Jagua, in the scrub forest near the Rio Bayano at Chepo, and near
Chiman. The most eastern records are from near Chiman and the
head of tidewater on the Rio Maje.
On the Caribbean slope Arcé’s records include Calovévora, and I
found them on the Rio Indio at El Uracillo on the upper reaches in
northern Coclé and at Chilar, lower down in western Colon. In the
northern Canal Zone, the type of the race was taken near Lion Hill
by McLeannan. It is reported on Barro Colorado Island and else-
where at Juan Mina, and near Gatun. Near Mandinga, in western
San Blas, they ranged in the undergrowth in swampy woodland. The
call is a low sibilant note, not audible except near at hand.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., No. 34, 1960, pp. 496-506) writes of
the nest of the closely allied race T. s. cinereiceps in Costa Rica, that
it is built by the female alone. He describes it as a rounded structure,
swinging freely from a slender, leafy twig of a tree or vine, built of
slender black vegetable fibers, bound together by cobweb. He writes
that it “resembles a chemist’s retort, hung so that the tubular neck is
vertical or nearly so and its opening points toward the ground.”
Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 725) described the
eggs as “creamy-white, with a slightly rufous tinge, speckled, chiefly
about the larger end, with cinnamon-rufous.” Two eggs are laid.
Measurements are 21 X 14 and 20.5 x 14 mm.
Skutch described the newly hatched young as dark skinned without
down. The male assists in care of the young, which are fed insects,
and occasionally berries. Females are recorded sleeping in the nest
before the eggs are laid, and continuing to use it but alone for a
period after the young leave. Later, like the male, she sleeps in the
open without shelter.
Article 32(c) of the International Code of Zoological Nomencla-
ture in its second section rules that a name published originally with
a hyphen “‘is to be corrected by the deletion of the mark.” The sub-
specific term flavo-olivaceus of the present species is unusual in its
formation, and one awkwardly written without the hyphen. It is noted
that Article 26(c) provides for this separation where a Latin letter
is used. The present case may be justification for an additional
exception in the use of a hyphen.
TOLMOMYIAS ASSIMILIS FLAVOTECTUS (Hartert):
Yellow-margined Flycatcher, Moscareta Amarilleja
Rhynchocyclus megacephala flavotectus Hartert, Nov. Zool., vol. 9, December 16,
1902, p. 608. (San Javier, Esmeraldas, Ecuador.)
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 5II
Rhynchocyclus marginatus Lawrence, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
December 1868 (April 1869), p. 429. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Rather small; similar to the Yellow-olive Flycatcher, 7. s. flavo-
olivaceus, but dorsal color darker, especially on the head, and tail
slightly shorter.
Description —Crown and hindneck dark mouse gray; slightly paler
on forehead; back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts, rump and upper
tail coverts plain olive-green; wings dull black; middle wing coverts
tipped, and greater coverts and inner secondaries edged broadly, with
yellow ; primaries and outer secondaries edged narrowly with olive-
yellow ; a narrow supraloral white line extending back from the base
of the nasal feathering ; a narrow white line around the eyelids, inter-
rupted by a dusky spot at the anterior angle of the eye; tail grayish
brown, edged with olive-green; chin, foreneck, upper breast, and
sides pale gray, with a faint tinge of yellow; rest of under surface
light yellow; a dusky spot on the under primary wing coverts; rest
of under wing coverts, axillars, and inner edge of wings yellowish
white.
A male collected at Cafiita, on the lower Rio Bayano, eastern
Province of Panama, February 8, 1962, had the iris pale mouse
brown; maxilla black ; mandible brownish white ; tarsus and toes dark
neutral gray; claws black. A female, at Pucro, Darién, January 31,
1964, had the iris mouse brown, maxilla black, mandible dull white,
shaded with dull brown for the anterior half on the sides; tarsus and
toes bluish neutral gray ; claws black.
Measurements——Males (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama,
Canal Zone, and San Blas), wing 63.5-66.8 (64.2), tail 48.3-52.5
(50.6), culmen from base 12.6-14.2 (13.8), tarsus 15.7-16.9 (16.3)
mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, and Darién), wing 58.6-
63.2 (60.4), tail 44.7-48.5 (47.1), culmen from base 13.3-14.2 (13.8),
tarsus 15.7-16.8 (16.3) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the Tropical Zone in humid forests ; on
the Pacific slope from the Canal Zone east through Darién, with single
records farther west for western Chiriqui and Cerro Campana. On
the Caribbean side in Bocas del Toro, near Almirante, northern
Veraguas, and from the Rio Indio, eastern Colon, and the Canal
Zone to the Colombian boundary in San Blas.
The only present record for Chiriqui is one specimen taken by Dr.
Frank Hartman, March 12, 1951, on Cerro Pando, beyond El Volcan.
On March 8 of this same year I secured a male in heavy forest at
850 meters on Cerro Campana. On the Caribbean side at Almirante,
512 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Kennard collected one February 28, 1926, and Austin Smith one
April 24, 1927. One in the British Museum marked Calovévora,
Veraguas, was taken by Arcé in 1869. On the upper Rio Indio I
found one in heavy forest near El Uracillo, on the northern slope of
Coclé, on March 2, 1952. In the northern Canal Zone the bird has
been recorded on Barro Colorado Island and elsewhere.
Hasso von Wedel secured specimens in eastern San Blas at Permé,
Ranchon, and Puerto Obaldia. At the latter locality I collected one as
it moved quietly in a leafy tree top on February 17, 1963. I have
found them common only in eastern Darién. Near Jaqué on the coast
I saw them in pairs in thickets of guava along the Rio Jaqué, and also
in tall, swampy forest. In 1959 we found them in pairs in late Febru-
ary and early March in the forest along the Rio Tuira at the mouth
of the Rio Paya. And later on the Rio Pucro farther inland in 1964
I saw them alone, and once in company with a moving band of small
birds in the forest.
On Barro Colorado, April 6, 1948, I saw one carrying nesting
material, but did not locate the site. I have seen no record in literature
of the form of the nest or of the eggs.
RHYNCHOCYCLUS OLIVACEUS BARDUS (Bangs and Barbour):
Olivaceous Flatbill, Piquichato Aceitunado
Craspedoprion olivaceus bardus Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 65, September 1922, p. 216. (Cerro Sapo, Darién, Panama.)
Medium size; bill broad, flat; olive-green above; breast light gray,
faintly streaked with yellow ; abdomen yellow.
Description—Length 135-150 mm. Bill broad and flat, width at
base almost equal to length; tenth primary in males with outer web
stiffened, and tips of the barbs recurved, so that they feel roughened
to the touch of a finger drawn along the edge. Adult male, upper
surface from forehead to upper tail coverts, including lesser wing
coverts and tibiae, olive-green; wings dusky, primaries with outer
webs light olive-green; middle and greater wing coverts and inner
secondaries tipped and edged with olive-yellow; tail grayish brown,
with outer webs olive-green; a narrow white eye-ring; ear coverts
basally dull olive-yellow; foreneck and upper breast, pale grayish
olive, streaked indistinctly with light yellowish olive-green; rest of
under surface light yellow ; central spot on center of lesser under wing
coverts dull olive-green; rest of under wing coverts and axillars pale
yellow.
Female, like male, but with outer web of tenth primary smooth.
In a male from Cafita, Panama, on the lower Rio Bayano, taken
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 513
February 8, 1962, the iris was mouse brown; bare lower eyelid yellow-
ish green; maxilla black, except at gape, which, like the mandible, is
dull buffy white ; tarsus and toes dull neutral gray ; claws black ; under
side of toe pads pale yellowish. Another male, from Armila, San
Blas, February 28, 1963, differed in having the iris warm brown; gape
honey yellow; tarsus and toes bluish neutral gray; claws fuscous-
black. In other details, in the inside of the mouth, the inner face of
the mandible and the tongue were yellowish orange; inner surface of
maxilla dusky at margin, shading to dull honey yellow in center. Ina
female, from El Real, Darién, January 27, 1964, the iris was dark
brown; maxilla black, mandible dull ivory-white; tarsus and toes
bluish neutral gray ; claws fuscous-brown.
Measurements—Males (10 from Colon, Province of Panama,
Canal Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 70.8-74.7 (73.4), tail
56.5-64.6 (60.4), culmen from base 15.8-17.0 (16.2), tarsus 17.1-
18.6 (17.9) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama, Darién, and
San Blas), wing 67.2-72.6 (70.2), tail 53.5-58.1 (55.4), culmen
from base 15.6-17.1 (16.6), tarsus 17.5-18.2 (17.9) mm.
Resident. Fairly common in forested areas; on the Pacific slope
from the Canal Zone to eastern Darién (Jaqué) ; on the Caribbean
side, from the Rio Indio (Chilar), western Colon, east to eastern San
Blas (Puerto Obaldia).
In their forest haunt they range from the undergrowth up to the
lower tree crown, occasionally coming out into partly cleared areas.
They are found singly or in pairs, occasionally with several loosely
associated. Single birds may join traveling flocks of the smaller forest
birds. Alone, they may move rather rapidly among the branches, or
may rest quietly, merely turning the head about.
Stomachs that I examined held insect remains. Goldman recorded
one seizing small flying insects in the air. The call is a low whis or
whees, with little carrying power. Eisenmann recorded the song as a
“very thin, but musically sweet, though monotonous, tee-tee-tee-tee.”’
Skutch (Anim. Kingd., vol. 59, 1956, p. 52) wrote that flycatchers of
the genus Rhynchocyclus “build retort-shaped nests” that differ from
those of the Yellow-margined Flycatcher (Tolmomyias assimilis) in
having large dead leaves in walls. He reports that they sleep in these
nests and suggests that some of these structures may be constructed
especially for this purpose. On Barro Colorado Island, Gilliard found
a nest April 13, 1937, with young about four days old.
While the nest is known, no description of the eggs of this northern
race of the species has been found.
514 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
RHYNCHOCYCLUS BREVIROSTRIS (Cabanis): Eye-ringed
Flatbill, Piquichato Oscuro
Medium size ; bill broad, flat ; breast dark gray, indistinctly streaked
with whitish; generally similar to the Olivaceous Flatbill but darker,
with the ventral markings of foreneck, breast, and sides darker and
heavier.
Description—Length 145-160 mm. Adult male, outer margin of
10th primary lightly serrate ; upper surface from base of bill to upper
tail coverts, including lesser wing coverts, deep olive-green; wings
dusky, with primaries, secondaries, and greater wing coverts edged
with yellowish olive-green ; tail dark grayish brown, edged with deep
olive-green; eye-ring white, wider and more prominent than in
R. olivaceus; lores faintly blackish; auricular region faintly dusky
posteriorly, paler anteriorly ; foreneck, upper breast, sides, tibiae, and
under tail coverts dull olive-green; chin and throat faintly grayish;
lower breast and abdomen yellow, becoming paler, whiter at sides;
outer under wing coverts dusky, forming a distinct spot; rest pale
yellow ; edgings of under wing feathers pale brownish white, whiter
laterally toward the tips.
Adult female, like male but outer margin of 10th primary smooth
or very faintly serrate; color pattern somewhat duller.
These are birds of Tropical and lower Subtropical Zone forests,
that in my experience in Panama have been less abundant than the
related Rhynchocyclus olivaceus. Two races are found in the Repub-
lic, one in the west, the other in the east.
RHYNCHOCYCLUS BREVIROSTRIS BREVIROSTRIS (Cabanis)
Cyclorhynchus brevirostris Cabanis, Arch. Naturg., vol. 13, bd. 1, heft 2, 1847,
p. 249. (Jalapa, Veracruz, México.)
Characters—Somewhat paler, both above and below ; dorsal surface
very faintly lighter; breast and foreneck lighter, with the abdomen
faintly deeper yellow.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 78.7-83.7 (80.5),
tail 66.1-74.2 (70.1), culmen from base 15.1-16.2 (15.7), tarsus
18.2-18.8 (18.7) mm.
Females (10 from Honduras, Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Veraguas),
wing 72.0-78.0 (75.2), tail 59.3-66.8 (62.8), culmen from base
14.1-16.6 (15.7, average of 9), tarsus 18.0-18.8 (18.4) mm.
Resident. Found locally on the Pacific slope in tropical and lower
subtropical forests from western Chiriqui, east through Veraguas,
including the western side of the Azuero Peninsula, to Cerro Cam-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 515
pana, western Province of Panama; to 1600 meters on Silla de Cerro
Pando west of El Volcan, and 1675 meters above Boquete; on the
Caribbean slope recorded at Calovévora, Veraguas.
In Chiriqui I have taken it in forest at 1190 meters above Santa
Clara near the Costa Rican boundary, and at 1280 meters near El
Volcan. (A report of one collected by W.W. Brown, Jr., at 2280
meters above Boquete appears questionable.) One in the British
Museum was collected in 1869 by Arcé on the base of the volcano at
Bugaba. In Veraguas early records by Salvin, from specimens now
in the British Museum, include Santa Fé on the Pacific side, and
Calovévora on the Caribbean slope. May 16, 1953, I collected a
laying female in gallery forest at Arena, 15 kilometers west of Sona.
Aldrich (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 7, 1937, p. 105)
found them in February 1932, on the Rio Mariato in the northwestern
Azuero Peninsula. March 13, 1951, I collected a male in forest at
850 meters on the south face of Cerro Campana, western Province
of Panama. As the species is found on the Caribbean slope in Costa
Rica, it may be expected in Bocas del Toro (though not yet recorded).
The two specimens in the British Museum taken by Arcé, labeled
Calovévora, come from farther east on the Caribbean slope. It should
be noted also that Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1861, p. 329) listed it with a query as taken by Galbraith and Mc-
Leannan on the Atlantic slope of the Canal Zone, and later (idem,
1862, p. 473) confirmed the identification as valid.
On the few occasions that I have encountered this species I have
seen single individuals in heavy forest where they moved or rested
quietly, on the watch for insects on the leaves. They ranged from the
undergrowth to the lower treecrown. Slud (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 128, 1964, p. 263) in Costa Rica found them on occasion in com-
pany with moving bands of other small forest birds. He describes
the call as a harsh, explosive note, and remarks further that this bird
was “regularly attracted to driving army ants. It may then perch only
a foot from the ground and, sitting quietly as usual amid the com-
motion, look up and about in round-eyed lethargy.”
The range of this nominate form of the species extends north to
Veracruz, México. Though it is reported to leave the northern area
after the nesting season, details of the migration are not known.
Wagner (Ver. Uberseemuseum Bremen, Reihe A, bd. 2, December
1953, pp. 211-212) has reported in some detail that both sexes molt
the primaries during the nesting season.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 508-513) describes the
516 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
nest as similar to that of the Olivaceous Flatbill but much bulkier,
made of coarser materials. Those recorded have been placed from 24
to nearly 11 meters above the ground. The nest is a rounded,
elongated mass of fibrous materials, mixed with many dead leaves,
that hangs free from the tip of a branch or vine. The rounded inner
chamber has a tubular entrance projecting below the bottom. As eggs
were seen only by means of a mirror, none were measured. A frag-
ment of shell that had fallen outside was “pale reddish brown,
mottled with a dark shade of reddish brown in a wreath around the
thick end.” The young at hatching had pink skins and “sparse but
rather long, gray down.” Empty nests are used as sleeping quarters,
and outside the nesting season others are built especially for that
purpose. These often are less substantial, with the entrance spout
shorter or absent.
RHYNCHOCYCLUS BREVIROSTRIS HELLMAYRI Griscom
Rhynchocyclus brevirostris hellmayri Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72;
January 1932, p. 352. (Cana, Darién.)
Characters——Darker both above and below. Darker olive-green
above ; breast and foreneck darker - abdomen somewhat duller yellow.
Measurements.—Males (3 from Darién), wing 79.1-87.0 (82.8),
tail 64.0-73.2 (69.2), culmen from base 16.0-17.0 (16.5), tarsus
18.2-19.0 (18.6) mm.
Females (8 from Darién), wing 75.0-78.5 (76.8), tail 62.2-65.9
(62.5), culmen from base 15.7-17.6 (16.7), tarsus 18.2-19.1 (18.6)
mm.
Resident. Recorded on the Pacific slope in Darién, from Cerro
Pirre, Cerro Mali, the upper Rio Jaqué, and Cerro Nique. (Found
also on the east face of Cerro Tacarcuna in the drainage of the Rio
Cuti, in Chocd, Colombia. )
The first specimens of this race were two females collected by E.A.
Goldman, May 3 and 5, 1912, at 1370 and 1525 meters elevation, near
the head of Rio Limon, on Cerro Pirre. R. R. Benson in 1928,
collecting for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, took two males
and four females in that area, these subsequently forming the series
from which Griscom described the race. The bird was recorded
again on this mountain through a male secured August 10, 1965, in
a collection made by Dr. Pedro Galindo for the Gorgas Memorial
Laboratory. He secured others on June 9, 1963, on Cerro Mali, and
March 18, 1972, at 700 meters on Cerro Nique.
On April 7, 1947, on the upper Rio Jaqué, Darién, I collected a
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 517
female in gallery forest near the base of the hills toward Las Pefitas,
above the lower course of the Rio Imamado. This was at the northern
end of the trail leading across the hills toward Colombia. It was the
only one seen. The related species, FR. 0. bardus, was common through
the slightly lower adjacent forests at the mouth of the Imamado, and
along the Rio Jaqué in this area.
In view of this, it has been interesting to consider the thesis of
Haffer (Auk, 1967, pp. 354-362) concerning allopatric species pairs
of birds in adjacent Colombia, as related to R. brevirostris and R.
olivaceus. (To his data on the lowland occurrence of brevirostris the
preceding accounts give additional localities in Veraguas, and those
above in eastern Darién.) In further comment, the record by Cassin
(Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 12, 1860, p. 144) where he
listed “Cyclorhynchus brevirostris,’ is based on three specimens of
Rhynchocyclus olivaceus mirus in the U.S. National Museum, taken
by A. Schott, attributed only to the “Survey of the Atrato R. New
Granada. Lt. R. Michler, U.S.A.” These ancient skins are flattened,
somewhat faded so that the buff edgings of the wings are paler, but
with the upper tail coverts distinctly olive-brown, and the tail with
browner edges, so that they are identified without hesitation as the
subspecies mirus. There is no indication in them of hybridization
between the two species under discussion.
TODIROSTRUM NIGRICEPS Sclater: Black-headed Tody-
flycatcher, Moscareta Enana Cabecinegra
Todirostrum nigriceps P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 23, May 16,
1855, p. 66, pl. 84, fig. 1. (Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. )
Very small ; crown, hindneck, and side of head black; breast yellow.
Description —Length 75-83 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown and
hindneck black; upper back and scapulars yellowish olive-green ;
lower back and rump grayish olive-green; upper tail coverts the
same, or in some partly white; wings black; middle and greater
coverts tipped and edged with yellow; inner primaries also edged
with yellow, this becoming nearly white on inner secondaries; tail
fuscous, margined narrowly with olive-green ; side of head black (like
pileum) with lower auricular area lined lightly with white; throat
and upper foreneck white; tibia black, tipped with dull yellow; rest
of under surface including edge of wing yellow, paler on under tail
coverts ; under wing coverts paler yellow ; under surface of primaries
edged with dull white.
A male, collected near Pacora, Panama, March 23, 1961, had the
518 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
iris dark wood brown; maxilla black; extreme tip of mandible mouse
brown; line along gonys dull wood brown, shading on either side to
the black of rest of the mandible; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray.
A female, at Charco del Toro, Panama, March 21, 1950, had the iris
dark brown; bill black above, dark neutral gray below, with a line of
light neutral gray along the inner margin of the gonydeal rami; tarsus
and toes light neutral gray ; claws black. Another female, from Pucro,
Darién, February 6, 1964, also had the iris dark brown; bill wholly
black ; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Male (10 from Costa Rica, Panama, and north-
western Colombia), wing 38.2-39.9 (38.9), tail 24.0-26.8 (25.1),
culmen from base 12.8-13.8 (13.2), tarsus 14.0-15.2 (14.7) mm.
Females (10 from Panama and northwestern Colombia), wing
36.3-39.3 (37.7), tail 22.8-25.2 (24.0), culmen from base 12.3-13.5
(13.0), tarsus 13.7-15.4 (14.5) mm.
Resident. Found in forested areas in the Tropical Zone; recorded
on the Pacific slope from the southern Canal Zone east through
eastern Province of Panama and Darién; on the Caribbean side from
Bocas del Toro to northern Coclé, Canal Zone, and eastern Colon.
Both Benson and Austin Smith collected this species near Almirante,
and the latter secured a male at Chiriqui Grande (in the Havemeyer
collection at Yale, labeled ‘‘Chiriquicito Grande”). February 14, 1958,
I took a male on Shepherd Creek, below Almirante. I collected
another February 27, 1952, near El Uracillo, northern Coclé, on the
upper Rio Indio. Eisenmann recorded it near Pifia in the northwest-
ern border of the Canal Zone. Early records were made by Mc-
Leannan at Lion Hill. Ridgely recorded it at Rio Piedras, eastern
Province of Colon, in January 1968. In the southern Canal Zone,
Eisenmann and N.G. Smith found it on the K-6 road July 13, 1964.
To the eastward, I secured one March 23, 1961, on the Rio Santo east
of Pacora in the upper La Jagua area. At Pucro, near the Rio Pucro,
Darién in 1964, I collected a female February 6 and a pair February 7.
Although these are forest birds, they come out regularly into
brushy areas that are more open. I found one in an old banana
plantation, another in low trees along a trail at the border of a weed-
grown pasture, and another in a low tree top covered with vines at
forest border. Near Pucro one came into shade trees over a cacao
plantation. On another occasion a pair rested side by side on an open
branch in gallery forest. One fluttered out to another perch for a
few seconds, and then returned to the side of its mate. It is probable
that they are more common than these few records indicate, as their
tiny size renders them inconspicuous.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 519
Dr. Skutch (in litteris, November 20, 1970) has given me the
following notes on breeding in this species as recorded near the Rio
Puerto Viejo, in the Caribbean lowlands of northern Costa Rica.
A nest found May 10, 1968, in a cedar tree (Cedrela) growing iso-
lated in a pasture, was 6 meters above the ground and less than 2
centimeters from a small vespiary of large black wasps. “The hanging
pear-shaped nest had a side entrance shielded by a visor-like projection
from the wall. It was made of felted fibrous materials and seed down
apparently largely of the balsa tree. Although similar in form to the
nest of T. cinereum, it was shorter, with less pendant ‘tail,’ and was
attached to a thicker branch, and better concealed. . . . Only the
female incubated, sitting for intervals that rarely exceeded a quarter
of an hour and were usually much shorter. The male often escorted
her back and forth, spent much time resting near the nest, and
occasionally went to the doorway to look in. He uttered a low,
measured chip chip chip chip, similar to, but more resonant than the
ticking note of cinereum. The female often voiced a very low, soft
trill when entering her nest or sitting in it.” (See also Skutch, Publ.
Nuttall Orn. Club 10, 1972, pp. 153-155.)
Eisenmann, in manuscript notes describes a nest that, in company
with N. G. Smith, he found July 13, 1964 near the K-6 road in the
Canal Zone, as a globular structure of brown fibers with the entrance
on the side. J. A. Allen (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 21, 1905,
pp. 286-287) described an egg collected by Mrs. H. H. Smith at
Bonda, near Santa Marta, Colombia, June 6 (year not stated) as
“ovate, clear white, with a few yellowish brown or rust-colored specks
over the larger end.” It measured 16x 11 mm.
Though it is evident that nigriceps is allied to T. pictum, T.
chrysocrotaphum, and others of this genus in small size and general
appearance, the action of Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1066, 1940,
pp. 2, 4) in placing these as races of T. chrysocrotaphum, requires
further consideration. As indication of this it is noted that nigriceps
differs somewhat from the others in pattern of markings, and also in
more slender form of wing and tail feathers.
TODIROSTRUM CINEREUM FINITIMUM Bangs: Common
Tody-flycatcher, Moscareta Enana Comin
Todirostrum cinereum finitimum Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 17,
May 18, 1904, p. 114. (San Juan Bautista, Tabasco, México.)
Very small; bill long, broad and flat; crown black, under surface
yellow.
520 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description.—Length 90-100 mm. Adult male, forecrown black,
extension posteriorly of this color, variable individually, merging
into slate color on the nape, where streaked somewhat obscurely with
black ; back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts, and rump pale to dark
olive-green, in some with the back near slate on the upper area ; smaller
upper tail coverts often yellowish; wings black, the middle and
greater wing coverts and inner flight feathers edged and tipped with
sulphur yellow ; tail black tipped and edged with white ; lores black, in
some tipped lightly with yellowish white; side of head blackish slate
to slate; under surface, including the malar region, under tail coverts,
axillars, and under wing coverts yellow; tibia dull black, barred with
brownish white; inner webs of remiges edged with brownish white.
Adult female similar, but usually with loral and frontal area with
more tipping of yellowish white (this found also in some males),
and dorsal surface often paler, more grayish olive-green.
A male, taken at the Candelaria Hydrographic Station, eastern
Province of Panama, March 4, 1961, had the iris pale yellow ; extreme
tip of maxilla, lower half of mandibular rami, a line on the gonys,
and tip of mandible ivory-white; rest of bill black; tarsus and toes
dark neutral gray ; claws black.
A female collected at El Potrero, Coclé, March 8, 1962, had the
iris light yellow; maxilla black; mandible dull white with a faint
grayish tinge ; tarsus and toes as in the male.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera,
Canal Zone, eastern Province of Panama, Bocas del Toro, western
Colon, and San Blas), wing 41.6-44.9 (43.2), tail 31.0-35.7 (33.7),
culmen from base 14.9-17.8 (16.1), tarsus 17.9-18.8 (18.3) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, and Bocas del Toro), wing 41.8-43.6 (42.4), tail 29.7-34.3
(31.5), culmen from base 15.2-16.5 (15.7), tarsus 18.1-18.9 (18.4)
mm.
Resident. Common in open, bushy areas in the Tropical Zone; on
the Pacific slope from western Chiriqui (Sereno, El Volcan, Puerto
Armuelles) east through Veraguas and the eastern side of the Azuero
Peninsula through Herrera to northeastern Los Santos (Monagre),
the Canal Zone, and the adjacent area of the eastern Province of
Panama (Pacora, La Jagua, and Chepo) ; to Darién, at Boca de Cupe
on the Rio Tuira, and Cana (550 meters elevation) on Cerro Pirre.
On the Caribbean side from western Bocas del Toro, northern
Veraguas, Colon (Rio Indio, Portobelo), northern Canal Zone, and
San Blas (Mandinga, Puerto Obaldia) ; Isla Coiba.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 521
While not abundant, these interesting small flycatchers are widely
distributed so that they are seen regularly, usually in pairs. In lowland
Chiriqui they are found from the Costa Rican boundary and the
Burica Peninsula eastward through San Félix and Las Lajas to Vera-
guas and southern Coclé. In the Azuero Peninsula they were not
encountered on the western side, but on the east ranged through
Herrera to northern Los Santos (to Monagre on the coast south of the
mouth of the Rio de la Villa). Their eastern limit beyond the Canal
Zone came at the lower Rio Bayano (San Antonio beyond Chepo).
On the Caribbean coast I recorded them in western San Blas at
Mandinga and the mouth of the Rio Cangandi. As Hasso von Wedel
collected specimens at Puerto Obaldia it appears that they are dis-
tributed throughout this area. In Darién, E. A. Goldman collected a
male near Cana on Cerro Pirre March 22, 1912, noting that the birds
were found “sparingly in the second growth jungle.” Benson secured
two males there in 1928. Eisenmann has given me records of one from
Boca de Cupe at the head of tidewater on the Rio Tuira.
Usually they are seen moving alertly through open branches, often
fluttering up among leaves to seize moving insects. More rarely, one
may rest motionless, often on an elevated perch, for several minutes.
The males especially, as they move about, raise the long tail above the
level of the back, often spread it slightly, and jerk it quickly from
side to side. In their active movements they are suggestive of gnat-
catchers or wrens, rather than their more subdued relatives among
the Tyrant Flycatchers. As they move about they call with sharp
chipping notes, or with a very short musical trilling song. All of these
sounds are low with slight carrying power. From numerous stomach
examinations I have found their food to be small insects of a con-
siderable variety, including many hymenoptera, diptera, beetles, and
hemiptera. Occasionally one had eaten a small caterpillar, or a small
moth.
The nest is large for the size of the bird, placed usually with no
pretense of concealment. In a usual location, the structure swings
from the tip of a hanging twig or vine, sometimes at the side of a
thicket, occasionally over a trail, or above a small stream at elevations
as low as a meter or two, or higher up to 8 or 9 meters from the
ground. It is built by male and female working together, the construc-
tion proceeding slowly, often through a period of two weeks to a
month. Long fibers are twisted around the supporting twig so that
they dangle in a tangled mass. As this grows in size, the birds press
other fibers into one side to form an opening, and then continue
522 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
until the irregular mass of the nest proper takes shape. Finally there
is an elongated, hollow ball with an opening at the upper end, often
with the upper margin projecting hoodlike as a guard against rain.
The nest varies from 15 to 20 centimeters in length. Loose ends of the
longer fibers hang untidily as a flattened, pendant tail, perhaps with
a few dead leaves entangled in it. The eggs number two or three, and
are white without gloss, usually plain, but often with tiny dots of
warm brown. These markings may be widely scattered, with some so
small that they are visible only through a lens, or more rarely, if
abundant, grouped in open cap-shaped form over the larger end. In
shape the eggs are surprisingly variable, from oval (found in
many) to long oval, subelliptical, or rarely, even long elliptical. A
usual size is 15.0X 11.0 to 16.1 11.6, with range to 17.7 x 11.3 or in
one set, to 18.0*11.8 mm. This range is found in six sets from the
southern Canal Zone collected by Major-General G. Ralph Meyer,
from March 27 to May 17, 1941, and E.A. Goldman, at Miraflores,
April 30, 1911, with two that I found at La Jagua, eastern Province
of Panama March 20 and 24, 1961.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 475-499) describes a
dawn-song of “‘a slight sharp fic repeated over and over at varying
rates, sometimes as often as 110 times per minute, and for many
minutes together.” He recorded the female as incubating and brood-
ing the young alone, but aided by the male in feeding the nestlings.
The incubation period was 17 days in one nest, and 18 days in
another. He heard both sexes regularly uttering a trilling song, to
maintain contact between the pair.
The subspecies finitimum in its typical form, in México and
northern Central America, differs in being more greenish above, as
compared to the grayer nominate cinereum of northern South Amer-
ica. The population of Panama is slightly intermediate, but on the
whole is nearer finitimum in somewhat greenish dorsal hue, though
many are faintly paler than typical individuals from México. The
long series examined shows too much variation to warrant another
name. Those from Isla Coiba, for example, all are closely similar to
the more northern birds, though birds of the adjacent mainland show
the variation mentioned. ’
As another slight difference, Todirostrum cinereum cinereum
averages very slightly larger in wing and tail, as indicated by the
following measurements from a Colombian series.
Males (10 from northern and western Colombia), wing 43.0-45.9
(44.5), tail 32.0-36.5 (33.8), culmen from base 14.8-17.1 (15.8),
tarsus 17.8-18.9 (18.2) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 523
Females (10 from northern and western Colombia), wing 42.1-45.4
(43.6), tail 30.5-34.6 (32.1), culmen from base 14.0-16.7 (15.6),
tarsus 18.0-18.8 (18.3) mm.
TODIROSTRUM SYLVIA SCHISTACEICEPS Sclater: Slaty-
headed Tody-flycatcher, Moscareta Enana Gris
Todirostrum schistaceiceps P. L. Sclater, Ibis, vol. 1, October 1859, p. 444.
(Oaxaca, México. )
A small Tody-flycatcher, with crown gray; breast gray, streaked
with white.
Description.—Length 88-95 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown slate,
indistinctly lined with black, paler on nape; back, scapulars, lesser
wing coverts, rump and upper tail coverts olive-green; wings black;
middle and greater coverts tipped with olive-yellow ; primary coverts,
primaries and secondaries edged with yellowish olive-green, this
changing to yellow on inner secondaries ; tail black, edged with yellow-
ish olive-green ; lores dusky, with a superior line of white, extending
back across upper eyelid; lower eyelid also white; suborbital and
auricular area slate-gray ; anterior lower surface light gray, streaked
narrowly with white; center of lower breast and abdomen white or
yellowish white ; sides and flanks light olive-green ; under tail coverts,
axillars, and under wing coverts light yellow.
Immature, breast and foreneck lighter gray.
A male, collected at El Copé, Coclé, February 25, 1962, had the iris
dark reddish brown; tip of bill grayish white, rest fuscous-black ;
tarsus, toes, and claws grayish brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera,
Coclé, Province of Panama and Canal Zone), wing 44.0-47.3 (45.3),
tail 30.9-34.7 (33.0), culmen from base 12.1-14.8 (13.5), tarsus
18.2-18.8 (18.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, Colon, Canal Zone,
and eastern Province of Panama), wing 43.5-45.7 (44.5), tail 29.5-
33.0 (31.3), culmen from base 12.1-14.8 (13.5), tarsus 18.2-18.8
(18.5) mm.
Resident. Fairly common; found locally in thickets and low second
growth in the Tropical Zone lowlands; on the Pacific side from
Chiriqui (Puerto Armuelles, Concepcién, Buena Vista, to 820 meters
elevation) east through Veraguas, the northeastern side of the Azuero
Peninsula, southern Coclé, the western Province of Panama, and
the southern Canal Zone, to the Rio Pacora and La Jagua, eastern
Province of Panama. On the Caribbean side uncommon in Bocas del
524 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Toro (Changuinola, Almirante), Rio Indio, western Colon, and the
northern Canal Zone.
These small birds live in the cover of thickets in pastures, along the
borders of fields, and in low growth at the open borders of forested
lands. They seem more widely spread and somewhat more common
therefore on the drier, more open Pacific slope than in the lusher,
denser growth of the Caribbean side where rainfall is heavier. The
species was first reported from Panama by Lawrence (Ann. Lyc. Nat.
Hist. New York, vol. 7, 1862, p. 473) from a specimen received from
McLeannan. Sclater and Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864,
p. 350) also listed it at this same early date, perhaps from this same
specimen, which Lawrence had submitted to Sclater for advice as to
its identity.
The Slaty-headed Tody-flycatcher differs decidedly in its manner
of life from the two related species of the genus found in Panama, as
it is secretive, living in the main under cover, so that it is unusual
to see it in the open. Its presence usually is made known by its croak-
ing, toadlike call, low in tone, very similar to that of the small Bentbill
Flycatcher, but shorter and less trilling in sound, accompanied by a
low clicking note, not given by the other species mentioned. It was
not until I had identified this call, heard on numerous occasions before
I was able to trace it certainly to the author, that I realized the bird
was fairly common over a considerable range. It seems probable
that the species was little known to early naturalists as then its forest
cover was more extensive. Suitable range for it certainly is now
more abundant through clearing for cultivation, with extensive stands
of second growth and of low shrubbery at the borders of fields and
pastures. The birds move about readily, mostly in pairs, and may sug-
gest gnatcatchers in their action. On other occasions, when moving in
leisurely manner, they have suggested small vireos. When seen clearly
I have noted that the distal ends of the tail feathers in males often
are slightly expanded, compared to the faintly narrower outline of
these feathers in females.
The notes of General G. Ralph Meyer record breeding in the Forest
Reserve on Madden Road, Canal Zone, on July 23, 1941. The nest
was suspended from the tip of a branch in a stand of small saplings,
under cover, and not in open view like that of Todirostrum cinereum.
The main structure was about 30 centimeters in length, made of
grasses, with straggling wisps hanging a few centimeters below the
lower end. The nest proper was of fine grass below a mass of heavy
grasses, that looked as though it might serve to shed rain. There
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 525
was no visor or roof over the entrance like that found regularly
in the nests of the more common species. The two eggs measured
16:5 12:7, and 1/.5%12,7.4mm.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. No. 34, 1960, pp. 490-495), in an ac-
count of this subspecies in southwestern Costa Rica, found that the
nest built by male and female working together was closely similar
to that of the common tody-flycatcher. While the structure was
suspended so that it hung free at the tip of a branch, from a meter
to 3 meters from the ground, the location was in cover of under-
growth. Nest building proceeded slowly. In seven nests examined
he found two eggs, or two nestlings. The eggs were “white, with a
wreath of chocolate spots and a sprinkling of the same over the re-
mainder of the surface.”” The extremes measured 19.1 x 13.1, 17.1
13.5, and 17.1X12.7 mm. Incubation was by the females alone.
At one nest the male did not approach the structure closely. At two
others the males occasionally clung at the doorway to look inside, but
did not enter. The incubation period was 18 or 19 days. The young
at hatching had pink skin with small tufts of gray down on head and
back.
The food is small insects, as in the related species.
ONCOSTOMA CINEREIGULARE (Sclater): Northern
Bentbill, Piquitorcido Norteno
Todirostrum cinereigulare P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 24, 1856
(January 26, 1857), p. 295. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México. )
Small ; bill heavy, distinctly curved ; breast gray.
Description —Length 90-100 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown dull
slate-gray, the feathers with darker streaklike centers; hindneck,
back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail coverts olive-green; wings
dusky; lesser, middle, and greater wing coverts edged with olive-
green; primaries and secondaries edged also, but usually with some-
what yellowish olive-green; tail dusky, edged with olive; lores more
or less grayish white; side of head grayish; throat and foreneck
grayish white, streaked with gray; chest and sides dull gray, lined
with grayish white; rest of under surface light yellow, with the sides
and flanks streaked and washed with olive; axillars and under wing
coverts pale yellowish white; inner webs of wing feathers with dull
whitish edgings.
In museum specimens the tarsus and toes are light yellowish brown.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Costa
Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Chiapas), wing 50.0—-52.9 (51.3),
526 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tail 36.5-40.3 (38.7), culmen from base 12.2-13.4 (12.6), tarsus
14.2-15.9 (15.1) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Honduras, Tabasco, and Veracruz),
wing 42.1-46.0 (44.2), tail 30.3-35.6 (32.0), culmen from base
11.4-12.8 (12.0), tarsus 14.0-14.9 (14.4) mm.
Resident. Not common. Recorded locally in Chiriqui and Bocas
del Toro.
The earliest record, in Chiriqui, is a male in the British Museum
(Nautral History) taken at Bugaba by Arcé in 1869. A female in
the California Academy of Sciences from San Félix was collected
by Mrs. M. E. McClellan Davidson, December 7, 1931. From Bocas
del Toro there is a female in the Peabody Museum from Chiriqui
Grande (labeled “‘Chiriquicito Grande”) collected by Austin Smith,
May 5, 1927. Benson secured it at Almirante, March 5, 1958. I took
a male in that area on the upper Quebrada Nigua, where my attention
was attracted to it by its toadlike call. Others have been captured
more recently in mist nets.
The species is one that ranges from México through Central
America to western Panama. It is found in thickets and undergrowth
in open forest, where its presence may be known from its low calls.
Usually these birds are shy, and are seen only on careful search in
the undergrowth in which they live.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. 34, 1960, pp. 555-558) found the female
occupied alone in nest building and care of the young. Two nests
seen in Costa Rica were rounded, somewhat elongated structures,
suspended from a leaf or twig a few centimeters above the ground
at the borders of thickets. They were made of light-colored fibers,
with an inner chamber “entered through a narrow, round aperture
in the side.” One contained two nestlings. Alvarez del Toro,
(Ateneo, no. 4, 1952, p. 15) in México recorded the eggs as white,
and two in number. The observations of Skutch indicated that the
curious notes mentioned were given only by males, that appeared
to be resident in definitely limited areas in the thickets that they
inhabited. He noted also that the food was “largely if not wholly
of insects and spiders, which it usually plucks from the under surface
of leaves.’ He believed that the relatively heavy, curved bill, differ-
ing from the flat, straight form of most flycatchers, was an adapta-
tion to the capture of its food from such locations. In the National
Museum collection there is an ancient specimen of cinereigulare
labeled “Expl. on Isthmus of Panama S. & T. Rhoades, Lion Hill,
near Aspinwall, J. McLeannan” that is the basis of error in records
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 527
of range for this species. The accession papers state that the specimen
was received from Thomas Rhodes (not Rhoades) with correspon-
dence dated February 20, 1866, and the information that skins
“marked S. & T. R. were collected by my brother and myself during
the month of Dec. last within six miles of Panama. The rest we
bought of a Mr. McClellan [i.e., McLeannan] of Lion Hill near
Aspinwall. It was our intention to have remained at least four months
on the Isthmus.”’ The brother became ill, they left suddenly for the
north, and the brother’s death came during the return journey.
Rhodes wrote that “our sudden departure made us neglect making
notes on the birds which we had intended even neglecting to mark the
sex and the color of the eyes of some.’ The specimen in question
must have been included from some other source as it is obvious
from its appearance that it was not prepared by McLeannan. The
locality therefore is not the Canal Zone.
ONCOSTOMA OLIVACEUM (Lawrence): Southern Bentbill,
Piquitorcido Aceitunado
Todirostrum olivaceum Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 4, January 1862, p. 12. (Lion Hill,
Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small ; bill heavy, distinctly curved as in O. cinereigulare, but breast
olivaceous.
Description —Length 90-100 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper sur-
face, olive-green, crown with faint dusky central lines; wings dusky ;
lesser wing coverts olive-green, lined and spotted indistinctly with
dusky; middle and greater coverts edged and tipped with olive-
yellow ; primaries and outer secondaries edged with olive-green, inner
secondaries with greenish yellow; tail dusky, edged with olive-green ;
foreneck and breast olive-yellow, lined with dull olive-green; sides
and flanks light olive-green, lined with pale yellow; under wing
coverts and axillars pale yellowish white; under wing feathers edged
with dull white.
A male collected at Chiva Chiva, Canal Zone, January 13, 1952,
had the iris light yellow; bill dusky neutral gray, with the central
area of the gonys whitish; tarsus light neutral gray ; toes avellaneous ;
claws neutral gray. In another male, taken at the mouth of the Rio
Paya, February 1, 1959, the iris was very light orange-yellow ; base
of culmen and of gonys grayish white; rest of bill dark neutral gray ;
front of tarsus neutral gray; back of tarsus and toes mouse brown.
In a third, at the Peluca Hydrographic Station, Panama, February 25,
1961, the iris was light honey yellow; base of rami, and lower surface
528 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of mandible, except at tip, pale brownish white; rest of bill black;
tarsus and basal phalanges of anterior toes, the hindtoe, and all claws,
neutral gray ; rest of anterior toes pale neutral gray.
A female at Chiman, Panama, February 16, 1950, had the iris
ivory-yellow; gonys brownish yellow; rest of bill brownish black;
tarsus and toes grayish brown. Another female, at Juan Mina, Canal
Zone, January 16, 1961, had the iris Marguerite yellow; base of
mandibular rami, line along their lower margin, and also along gonys,
dull white; rest of bill dark neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws
neutral gray. A third of this sex, collected at Pucro, Darién, Janu-
ary 30, 1964, had the iris pale orange; cutting edge of maxilla and
mandible, base of gonys, and lower margin of mandibular rami pale
dull ivory-white; rest of bill black; tarsus dark neutral gray; toes
brownish neutral gray ; claws dull fuscous.
The tarsus and toes in olivaceum, in the long series of specimens
available from the eastern half of the Isthmus and northern Colombia,
are uniformly dark. Those of O. cinereigulare are light, faintly
brownish yellow.
Measurements——Males (10 from Canal Zone, eastern Province
of Panama, western Colon, northern slope of Coclé, and San Blas),
wing 46.6-48.8 (47.4), tail 33.2-36.7 (34.7) culmen from base
12.1-13.3 (12.7), tarsus 15.0-15.9 (15.3) mm.
Females (10 from western Colon, Canal Zone, eastern Province
of Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 41.0-43.8 (42.5), tail 28.6—
31.8 (30.3), culmen from base 11.6-12.8 (12.3), tarsus 13.9-15.1
(14.4) mm.
Resident. Locally common in the tropical lowlands, on the Pacific
slope from the southern Canal Zone east through Darién; on the
Caribbean side from the Rio Indio in western Colén and northern
Coclé, east through the Canal Zone, eastern Colon, and San Blas to
Colombia ; to Cana on Cerro Pirre.
These small birds live in the under story of forest areas, and range
out also into low second growth through fields and pastures. Occa-
sionally I have found them in tall, dense stands of grasses bordering
thickets. Usually they are timid, so that their presence is known
only from their calls, uttered by birds that remain hidden among the
leaves. Rarely, I have found them on perches occasionally fairly
high above the ground, in open branches in tall forest, when in move-
ment they may suggest small vireos. It is usual to see one alone.
Rarely, where two have been in company, I have found that they were
male and female. Rarely also, I have noted one in company with
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 529
moving groups of small forest birds. It has been my impression that
such association has been temporary for only short periods, and in
limited movement in travel.
The voice is a low, rattling call, toadlike in sound. The trachea is
much enlarged, the swelling beginning below the larynx, and ending
immediately above the syrinx. This development in size resembles
that found in Lophotriccus pileatus, but differs in Oncostoma by
being compressed from side to side. While most of the calls come
from males, they are given also by females, as I have determined
from collected specimens. On one occasion, at Charco del Toro, two
were calling persistently and chasing one another from perch to
perch ; both proved to be females.
An early account of the nest of this species is that of D. E. Har-
rowes (Auk, 1936, pp. 336-337), of one found August 7, 1933, on
the Rio Indio trail near Gatun. It was in dense, low jungle about a
meter from the ground, “a small, flask-shaped structure . . . hung
from slender twigs. The entrance was a small, round hole in one
side near the top, with a ‘roof’ projecting out and serving to shelter
it. . . . When discovered it contained one very small white egg . . .
with a very few minute spots of red-brown about the larger end.”
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 558-560) in late April
1935, on Barro Colorado Island, found a nest about 4 meters from
the ground, hung from a slender branch in a small tree in the forest
beside a little stream. It was about 140 mm long by 75 mm in
diameter, and had a narrow, round opening leading to the inner
chamber. It was “constructed almost wholly of very light-colored,
soft fibers . . . lined with soft, buff-colored down from some kind
of seed.’’ On May 2 it held two white eggs “with a wreath of small
blotches and fine scrawls of pale brown around the thick end, and a
few such marks scattered elsewhere. .. . They measured 15.9
12.7 and 15.9 x 12.3 millimeters.”
Beyond Panama, Oncostoma olwaceum ranges across northern
Colombia from the lower Rio Atrato, Chocd, east in the middle
Magdalena region from western Santander north to the Santa Marta
area. Specimens from this area do not differ from the typical popula-
tion of Panama.
LOPHOTRICCUS PILEATUS LUTEIVENTRIS Taczanowski:
Scale-crested Pygmy-tyrant, Moscareta Cresta~-Escamada
[Lophotriccus squamicristatus| subsp. luteiventris Taczanowski, Orn. Pérou,
vol. 2, 1884, p. 231. (Chiriqui. )
Lophotriccus squamicristatus minor Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14,
530 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
September 4, 1891, p. 337. (Grecia, Alajuela, Costa Rica.)
Lophotriccus zeledont Cherrie, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, September 4, 1891,
p. 337. (Dota, San José, Costa Rica.)
Small; with straight, rather heavy bill; breast whitish to yellowish,
streaked with gray; adult with prominent brown crest, spotted with
black.
Description—Length 90-100 mm. Adult, with a bushy crest in
which the feathers become longer and broader posteriorly. Male,
crest prominent, with the feathers especially large and broad at the
tips ; forehead and anterior area of crown grayish brown, in the latter
area the feathers darker centrally; longer crown feathers black
basally, tipped broadly with cinnamon-rufous ; hindneck, back, scapu-
lars, and rump olive-green ; tail dusky, edged with olive-green; wings
dusky ; wing coverts dusky basally ; lesser coverts edged with olive-
green, middle and greater coverts tipped with grayish white to yel-
lowish olive-green; primaries edged with olive-green; secondaries
bordered more widely with yellowish white; side of head olive to
light rusty brown; throat, foreneck, breast, and sides white to
yellowish white; streaked rather broadly with gray to grayish olive;
abdomen and under tail coverts white to yellowish white; tibia dusky,
tipped at the tarsal joint with dull brown; axillars and under wing
coverts white; inner margins of wing feathers edged with dull white.
Adult female, similar but crest less developed, with the feathers
narrower distally ; sides of head browner.
Immature, crest feathers not lengthened, broadened or expanded
distally ; crown and hindneck plain rusty brown; under surface less
distinctly streaked with gray.
A male, taken near the base of Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of
Panama, March 14, 1950, had the iris light orange-yellow; maxilla
fuscous ; base of gonys flesh color, rest of mandible dark neutral gray ;
tarsus and toes mouse brown. In one from Cerro Mali, Darién,
February 21, 1964, the iris was pale orange; cutting edge of maxilla
and mandible, and lower margin of mandibular rami, dull grayish
white ; rest of bill black; anterior face of tarsus pale neutral gray;
posterior surface and toes pale brownish white; claws pale neutral
gray. Another from Cerro Campana, western Province of Panama,
March 5, 1951, had the iris yellowish white, becoming somewhat
orange around the pupil.
In a female from Cerro Campana the iris was as described for the
male from that locality. In one collected at Palo Santo, near FI
Volcan, March 1965, the iris was yellow ; lower margin of mandibular
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 531
rami and basal third of gonys buffy white; narrow cutting edges of
maxilla and mandible dull yellowish white; rest of bill black; tarsus,
toes, and claws on inner and outer anterior toes, brown; claws on
central anterior toe and on hind toe, fuscous.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Cerro
Campana, western Province of Panama), wing 47.0-51.5 (49.7),
tail 33.2-39.2 (36.6), culmen from base 10.1-12.5 (11.9), tarsus
15.4-16.5 (15.9) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Cerro Campana, west-
ern Province of Panama), wing 43.2-46.5 (44.6), tail 28.0-35.3
(31.8), culmen from base 11.2-12.2 (11.6), tarsus 14.2-16.1
(15.1) mm.
Resident. Found on the Pacific slope in forested areas in the
upper Tropical Zone from 450 to 1525 meters, from western Chiriqui
through Veraguas and Coclé to Cerro Campana in the western sector
of the Province of Panama; ranges also to the upper Tropical Zone
from 750 to 900 meters on Cerro Azul; in Darién to 900 meters on
Cerro Sapo; on Cerro Pirre from 750 meters to the lower Subtropical
Zone at 1580 meters: on Cerro Mali from 575 meters on the base to
the upper Tropical Zone at 1430 meters.
They are encountered regularly from undergrowth near the ground
to the lower tree crown, in undisturbed forest, and are adapted to
change, as they come regularly to second growth where this has at-
tained fair size. At rest they perch quietly with the body held erect.
As they are so small, it may be difficult then to see them, since the
smallest leaves may hide them. Males have a low song that may be
represented by the syllables weet chee si-loo, often given with the
syllables in reverse order. The more common call, that often at-
tracts attention, is a rattling, steely note given usually by the males,
and possibly may be restricted to them. In this sex, the trachea is
thin-walled and considerably enlarged, the swelling beginning im-
mediately below the larynx on the upper end, and tapering distally
to terminate at the syrinx. In calling, the crest may be elevated, and
the feathers of cheeks and upper neck erected. As stated, this call
appears to be confined to the males. In females the trachea is small
and of normal form. It should be noted that because of the thin
wall the trachea shrinks appreciably after preservation in alcohol, so
that while still enlarged it appears smaller than in life.
Skutch (Publ. Nutt. Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, pp. 90-92), in obser-
vations on the Pacific slope of southern Costa Rica, recorded males
calling persistently from the middle of January to May, scattered
532 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
singly through the forests. The only nest that he found was attended
by one adult. From other observations it was his impression that males,
keeping to a limited daily range, attracted the females by their calling,
but that the birds did not form permanent pairs that remained in
company during nesting. The nest, suspended from a twig about
34 meters above the ground, was a rounded ball with the opening
guarded by a small projection above. It was made of “fine light-
colored bast fibers, which in the bottom of the cozy rounded structure
formed a very thick cushion.”” The nest was attached to the support-
ing twig by a broad band more than 50 mm in width, while a thin
streamer dangled below. The two young were attended by one
parent that he believed was the female.
Schonwetter (Handb. Ool., pt. 15, 1968, pp. 83, 111) describes
eggs from Pert and Ecuador (listed under the nominate race L.p.
pileatus) as somewhat pointed miniatures of those of the Royal Fly-
catcher. Some have a bright to dark reddish gray ground color,
thickly marked with carmine in scrawling lines which form a wreath
or band that obscures the ground color. Others have elongated
carmine spots mixed with dark lines. The similarity is such as to indi-
cate a possible relationship between the two genera. In size six eggs
of the Lophotriccus measured 17.4-18 x 12.8-13.5 mm.
Close similarity in size in birds from western and eastern Panama
is shown by comparison of the following measurements of males
from eastern Panama with those listed above from the western end
of the Republic.
Males (10 from eastern Province of Panama and Darién), wing
47.1-51.8 (49.6), tail 34.7-38.7 (36.2), culmen from base 11.0-12.5
(11.6), tarsus 15.2-16.1 (15.8) mm.
The range of the species as a whole extends from Costa Rica south
to South America through Colombia and western Venezuela to Ecua-
dor and Pert, where additional races have been recognized.
ATALOTRICCUS PILARIS WILCOXI Griscom: Light-eyed
Pygmy-tyrant, Moscareta Pigmea Ojiblanca
Atalotriccus pilaris wilcoxi Griscom, Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 141, October 31, 1924,
p. 1. (La Colorada, near Santiago, Veraguas.)
Very small; pale grayish green above; light grayish white under-
neath, faintly streaked with darker gray; tail long, narrow; eye
light-colored.
Description —Length 82-95 mm; four outer primaries shortened,
narrowed, and pointed. Adult male, with the four outermost primaries
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 533
very short and narrow; above grayish olive-green, including the lesser
wing coverts; crown feathers darker in center; wings dusky, edged
with olive-green, the edging changing to pale yellow on the secon-
daries; middle and greater wing coverts edged and tipped with dull
buffy white; lores dull buffy white; sides of head and of breast light
brownish gray; under surface dull white becoming pale yellow on
flanks and under tail coverts; chin and throat indistinctly streaked
with dull brownish gray, these markings extending less definitely to
upper breast; tibia brownish gray; axillars and under wing coverts
pale yellowish white; inner margins of under side of wing feathers
edged narrowly with dull white.
Adult female, similar, but with the four outer primaries some-
what larger and longer.
Juvenile, outer primaries broader; crown without central streak-
ing; forepart of body suffused with buff; throat without streaks.
A male, collected at Nueva Gorgona, western sector of Province
of Panama, March 17, 1951, had the iris light yellow; base of
mandible dull ivory-white; rest of bill dusky; tarsus and toes light
brown ; claws dusky.
A female taken at Gago, Coclé, January 20, 1963, had the iris
yellowish buff; tip of bill black; base of maxilla to nostril mouse
brown; base of mandible dull white; tarsus and toes pale mouse
brown; claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements——Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos,
Herrera, Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 39.2-41.1
(40.4), tail 32.4-39.2 (36.8), culmen from base 9.6-11.3 (10.7),
tarsus 14.8-16.2 (15.4) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos, Herrera, Coclé,
and Province of Panama), wing 38.2-39.7 (39.2), tail 30.1-33.6
(32.2), culmen from base 9.9-11.9 (10.9), tarsus 14.7-15.8
(15.4) mm.
Resident. Common in thickets and open woodlands; on the Pacific
slope from the lowlands of Chiriqui (Alanje, David) east through
southern Veraguas, the eastern side and southern end of the Azuero
Peninsula, southern Coclé, the Province of Panama (east to Panama
City) and the southern Canal Zone; less commonly to 900 meters
elevation along the foothills in Chiriqui and Veraguas, and to 300
meters in southern Cocleé.
These tiny birds are common in the thickets and open woodlands
in the drier areas of the Pacific slope, east to the southern Canal
Zone and Panama City, but do not extend to the more humid areas
534 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
on the Caribbean side, or to the eastern section of the Pacific slope.
They are found usually low down, but may come also, at least briefly,
into taller trees. They may also appear in the inland border of man-
grove swamps. Attention may be drawn to them by their chattering,
trilling calls, after which they may be identified by their plain pattern
of coloration, their slender form, and relatively long tail. Their food,
gleaned in their active movement through the open branches, is com-
posed of small insects. A typical stomach of one taken near Corozal,
Canal Zone, contained fine bits of half a dozen species of tiny beetles,
small hymenoptera, and heteroptera.
Though as a species these birds, in addition to the area described
in Panama, range widely through northern Colombia and Venezuela
to Guyana, there is as yet no definite information on their nesting.
The subspecies wilcoxi was named by Griscom “in honor of Mr.
A. L. Wilcox, president of the Tropical Forest Products Company,”
in recognition of his assistance during field work in the forests of
southern Veraguas.
PERISSOTRICCUS ATRICAPILLUS (Lawrence): Black-capped
Pygmy-tyrant, Moscareta Pigmea Gorranegra
Figure 45
Orchilus atricapillus Lawrence, Ibis, ser. 3, vol. 5, July 1875, p. 385. (Angostura,
Cartago, Costa Rica.)
Tiny, with very short tail; crown black; back greenish.
Description—Length 60-70 mm ; tail less than half as long as wing.
Adult male, crown black, becoming slate posteriorly; hindneck and
side of head slate-gray ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts, and
lesser wing coverts bright olive-green; wings slate-black, with olive-
green to yellowish edgings, these becoming broader and yellower on
inner secondaries; greater and middle coverts tipped with olive-green ;
lores with a black spot adjacent to eye, and a white line extending
back to connect with a narrower white orbital circle; foreneck and
center of upper breast white, with the latter area faintly lined with
gray; sides gray; tibia dusky, tipped with white; posterior under
parts, flanks, axillars, and under wing coverts pale yellow; inner
margins of under side of wing dull white.
Adult female and juvenile similar, but with crown duller, ranging
from dull black on the forehead to dusky slate posteriorly.
A male, taken at Puerto Obaldia, San Blas, March 16, 1963, had
the iris dark brown; base of gonys and extreme tip of mandible white ;
rest of bill black; tarsus and toes pale brown; claws somewhat darker.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 535
Measurements—Males (10 from Darién, San Blas, and north-
western Colombia), wing 34.5-37.7 (35.7), tail 12.7-15.7 (14.3),
culmen from base 10.5-12.3 (11.6), tarsus 12.1-13.5 (12.8) mm.
Females (5 from Costa Rica, Province of Panama, Darién, and
Colombia), wing 33.5-35.2 (34.4), tail 13.8-14.3 (14.0), culmen
from base 10.9-11.6 (11.3), tarsus 12.5-13.7 (12.9) mm.
Resident. Uncommon, in forested areas in the Tropical Zone; on
the Pacific slope in Darién, from the Rio Tuira Valley to Jaqué; on
the Caribbean side recorded from Bocas del Toro, northern Veraguas,
Figure 45.—Black-capped pygmy-tyrant, moscareta pigmea gorranegra,
Perissotriccus atricapillus.
lower Chagres Valley in the northern Canal Zone, adjacent Province
of Panama, and eastern San Blas.
The first record for Panama is one in the American Museum of
Natural History, collected by R. R. Benson at Guaval in eastern
Bocas del Toro, near the upper Rio Calovévora. Another, a male in
the Havemeyer collection in the Peabody Museum at Yale, was taken
by Austin Smith, May 16, 1927, near Zegla, a village at the junction
of the Rio Teribe and the Rio Changuinola, in the lowlands of
western Bocas del Toro (reported by Griscom, through misunder-
standing, as from Almirante). While the bird was not identified in
530 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
earlier studies on Barro Colorado Island, in recent years there have
been numerous reports of it by E. O. Willis and others, including a
nest found by Willis in late April 1961. Ridgely recorded it July 5,
1969, back of Gamboa, and in company with N. G. Smith, at Cerro
Santa Rita, Colon, near the Canal Zone boundary. A female was
collected by J. A. Griswold, Jr., at the old Salamanca Hydrographic
Station, on what is now the northern end of Madden Lake, on March
31, 1936. In Darién, I recorded it at several localities, as noted be-
yond. In eastern San Blas it has been found at Permé and Puerto
Obaldia.
On March 21, 1946, in dense jungle at the base of Loma Gonzalez,
immediately to the south of Jaqué, on the coast of Darién, I saw
some small creature, that I thought was a large insect, fly into a clump
of moss, a rounded mass that seemed out of place in its location. At
a pull on a vine one of these tiny birds flew out of what proved to be
its nest, to perch a few meters away. The nest swung at the tip of a
slender branch in a thorny tree between 3 and 4 meters from the
ground. The location was such that the nest could not be reached,
so finally I shot off the twig that supported it. Unfortunately, it over-
turned as it dropped, so that the two eggs fell out and were broken.
The shells were rather dull white, spotted throughout with cinnamon.
They were fresh. The nest was approximately 150 millimeters long
by 90 wide, with the exterior made of green moss. Halfway down
one side a small, rounded opening led into a covered cup of fine, dry,
yellow fibers, lined softly with downy materials. The bulk of the nest
was amazing in contrast to the size of the tiny bird that had built
it. Only the female was in attendance. On April 6, on the Rio Jaqué,
we collected a male as it ranged high in heavy forest.
Dr. Alexander Skutch (in litteris November 20, 1970) has kindly
furnished further details on the nest and eggs of this species as seen
at La Selva, in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, April 13, 1967.
The nest hung from a slender twig of a fallen branch swinging a little
over a meter above the ground. The structure was similar to the
one described above but with dangling ends of material hanging below.
The two eggs were “white, with a wreath of light brown blotches
around the thicker end and scattered elsewhere.”’ It was not possible
to remove them to be measured.
In February and March 1959, on the Rio Tuira, near the mouth of
the Rio Paya, two of these small birds ranged through low trees
covered with a tangle of vines. Here they moved actively, but were
so tiny that it was difficult to distinguish them when they stopped to
rest. In flight near at hand the yellow-green wing markings flashed
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 537
brilliantly. Others were seen there from late February to March 11
resting quietly in low shrubs. Hasso von Wedel collected several near
Permé and Puerto Obaldia, eastern San Blas, in 1930. March 16,
1963, I found a male at the latter place ranging actively among vines
and leaves 4 or 5 meters from the ground in the thickets beside a
small quebrada. At the old village site on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna
on March 14, 1964, a fully feathered juvenile with its female parent
ranged in undergrowth in dense forest. As they rested on small, open
limbs they resembled tiny knots of wood rather than birds.
Their call is a high-pitched, single syllable, tseep, sometimes given
singly, sometimes repeated rapidly several times, so high-pitched
in sound that it may not be recognized as the note of a bird. The tiny
size of the bird adds to the difficulty.
North of Panama, according to Slud, this species ranges along
the Caribbean slope to the lowlands of northeastern Costa Rica. To
the south in Colombia it is found near the Pacific coast of Choco to
northwestern Ecuador, and also in the lower Atrato Valley, the upper
Rio Sint (Quebrada Salvajin) in Cordoba, and in the upper valleys
of the Rio Cauca (to Taraza), and its tributary the Rio Nechi (to
Hacienda Belén) in Antioquia. The type specimen, a male, in the
U.S. National Museum, is from Angostura in the Province of
Cartago, Costa Rica.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1066, May 3, 1940, p. 22) listed
this bird as a race of Perissotriccus ecaudatus described from Bolivia,
which in two subspecies ranges from Pert through northern Brazil,
eastern Colombia, and Venezuela to the Guianas. In this action he
stated that “intergradation is not established,’ nor is it shown by
the additional material that I have seen. P. ecaudatus is plain gray
on the crown, with restricted white on the lores and around the eye,
and whiter under surface. The transfer of these two species to the
genus Myiornis also does not appear justified from present data, in
view of the more rounded wing, decidedly longer tail, more slender
bill, and greater development of the rictal bristles shown in Myiornis
auricularis, type species of the genus.
PSEUDOTRICCUS PELZELNI BERLEPSCHI Nelson: Olive-
crowned Pigmy-tyrant, Moscareta Coronilla Aceitunada
Pseudotriccus pelzelni berlepschi Nelson, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 60, no. 21,
February 26, 1913, p. 1. (Head of Rio Limon, Cerro Pirre, 1585 meters
elevation, Darién. )
Small ; dark-colored, with black bill, bushy, dark-colored crest, and
cinnamon edgings on wings and tail.
538 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Description —Length 105-115 mm. Male, crown and upper hind-
neck olive; sides of head, back, and lesser wing coverts olive-brown ;
greater coverts, wings, and tail fuscous, edged with cinnamon ; rump
and upper tail coverts dull cinnamon; sides, including sides of neck,
dull greenish olive; central under surface dull yellow, whiter on the
throat, and washed with greenish olive across the breast; edge of
wing, outer under wing coverts, flanks, tibia, and under tail coverts
dull cinnamon.
Female, similar, but with back and sides dull buffy brown.
Measurements——Males (7 from Cerros Pirre and Tacarcuna),
wing 55.8-57.7 (56.5), tail 41.2-46.2 (43.8), culmen from base
12.7-13.6 (13.0, average of 5), tarsus 20.0-21.6 (20.6) mm.
Females (3 from Cerros Pirre and Tacarcuna), wing 52.3-54.0
(53.4), tail 38.1-41.2 (39.7), culmen from base 12.4-13.0 (12.7),
tarsus 19.2-20.8 (20.1) mm.
Resident. Subtropical Zone forests on Cerro Pirre (1375 and
1585 meters), and Cerro Tacarcuna (1250 meters), Darién.
A specimen in the American Museum of Natural History from
the eastern slope of Cerro Tacarcuna at 1400 meters on the head-
waters of the Rio Cuti, taken by Anthony and Ball, April 7, 1915,
extends the range on the Colombian side of the international boundary
to northern Choco.
Goldman, who secured the type series, found these birds in low
undergrowth in the dark forest of the summit of Cerro Pirre. The
several seen attracted attention by ‘‘a slight snapping noise.” Two of
his specimens were taken in the lower levels of steep quebradas, and
one on the summit of a high ridge. In 1964, on Cerro Tacarcuna, we
collected four, all captured in mist nets set across a small channel on
the upper Rio Pucro at 1250 meters elevation. They were rather
heavy-bodied in the hand, with long and prominent rictal bristles,
fairly long tarsi, and long, curved claws. The suggestion by Chapman
(Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 36, 1917, p. 411) under the
nominate race pelzelni, that because of the long tarsi this species “is
more or less terrestrial,’’ seems doubtful. It is more probable that
they live in the lower levels of undergrowth, near the ground.
The race berlepschi, (distinguished from typical P. p. pelzelni of
the eastern Andes in Colombia and Ecuador by larger bill, darker,
more olive, less greenish color above, with the outer webs of remiges
and rectrices brighter cinnamon, and the under tail coverts cinnamon-
buff) ranges south in the western Andes of Colombia to northwestern
Caldas.
There is no record of the nest and eggs.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 539
PHYLLOSCARTES FLAVOVIRENS (Lawrence): Yellow-green
Tyrannulet, Moscareta Verdecita
Leptopogon flavovirens Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 7,
1862, p. 472. (Atlantic slope, Panama Railroad, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Small ; above olive-green ; underneath pale yellow.
Description—Length 100-110 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface olive-green, with the crown very slightly grayer than the
back; wings dusky, with middle and greater coverts tipped broadly
with light yellow; primaries edged with yellowish olive-green ; secon-
daries with borders yellower and wider; a white ring around eye;
lores grayish white, with a central spot of dark gray; under surface,
including axillars and under wing coverts, pale yellow, except the chin
which is faintly whiter ; upper breast washed faintly with olive ; inner
margins of wing feathers edged with yellowish white.
Measurements.—Males (8 from Canal Zone and eastern Province
of Panama), wing 52.5-57.5 (55.3), tail 47.0-51.8 (48.6), culmen
from base 11.2-13.5 (12.7), tarsus 16.2-17.5 (16.8) mm.
Female (one from eastern Province of Panama), wing 48.0, tail
43.7, culmen from base 12.4, tarsus 15.4 mm.
Resident. Rare: recorded from the Canal Zone; and on the Pacific
slope, from near Chepo, Chiman, and Cerro Chucanti, eastern
Province of Panama, and Garachiné, Darién.
The species was named by Lawrence from a male collected by
Galbraith and McLeannan, near the line of the railroad in the Canal
Zone, on the Atlantic slope (probably, but not certainly, in the
vicinity of Lion Hill station, now submerged in Gatun Lake between
Gamboa and Gatun). A second record is a male, formerly in the
Havemeyer collection, now in the Peabody Museum at Yale, collected
by Austin Smith at “Port Antonio” (San Antonio) on the lower Rio
Bayano, near Chepo. Another male, in the Academy of Natural
Sciences, was secured at Garachiné, Darién, by Dawson Feathers,
on the Fifth George Vanderbilt Expedition. March 15, 1950, I
collected a pair at the base of Cerro Chucanti, near the head of Rio
Majé. Several ranged with a traveling group of other small birds that
moved actively through the forest tree crown 30 meters or more
above the ground along a small quebrada. On March 31, near
Chiman, I secured two more males, also from a mixed flock feeding
through the higher part of the tree crown near the lower Rio Chiman.
In the American Museum of Natural History there are three males
from the Canal Zone, one collected near the pipeline road back of
Gamboa, January 5, 1966, and one from the Chiva Chiva road, June
540 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
19, 1970, both taken by E. S. Morton, and one from Curundu, August
2, 1966, taken by Storrs Olson and J. Wiese.
In the first mention of this species by Lawrence (loc. cit., p. 328)
he listed it under the name Tyrannula flaviventris, with the remark
“Trides brown; found on high trees, and very rare.”’ In a third section
of his report on the Galbraith-McLeannan collection, he described it
as new. So little is known of this bird that its relation to other forms
is not yet wholly certain. The name used here follows the suggestion
of Zimmer (in Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1095, 1940, pp. 2-3).
PHYLLOSCARTES SUPERCILIARIS (Sclater and Salvin):
Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Moscareta Ceja Acanelada
Small; tail rather long; crown slate to blackish slate, back olive-
green ; lores and line above eye dark rufous; small, fluffy white nasal
tufts.
Description—Length 95-105 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
slate to blackish slate, changing on hindneck to the greenish olive of
the back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts ;
wings dusky; middle and greater coverts tipped narrowly with pale
yellow; primaries edged with light olive-green, secondaries more
prominently with yellowish-olive-green; tail dusky edged with dull
olive-green ; fluffy nasal tufts dull white; forehead (narrowly), lores,
and narrow line around eye extending faintly back of eye, dark
rufous; side of head slate, with space below eye white, and a dusky
line below extending to side of neck; chin, malar area, and upper
foreneck dull white ; upper breast light gray, lined faintly with white ;
lower breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts yellowish white; tibia
dusky; axillars and under wing coverts pale yellow; an indistinct
dusky spot near edge of wing on under wing coverts.
This is a little-known species in the mountain forests of Costa
Rica and Panama that ranges to northern Colombia and western
Venezuela. Two slightly different races are found in Panama. While
generic allocation has varied in earlier publications, it seems appro-
priate to accept the decision of Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1095,
1940, p. 19) in placing it in Phylloscartes.
PHYLLOSCARTES SUPERCILIARIS SUPERCILIARIS
(Sclater and Salvin)
Leptotriccus superciliaris P. L. Sclater and O. Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
October 1868, p. 389. (Chitra, Veraguas, Panama.)
Characters.—Brighter olive-green on back; crown grayer, super-
ciliary and lores brighter cinnamon; with throat and breast gray.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 541
Measurements.—Male (1 from Costa Rica), wing 53.0 tail 49.3,
culmen from base 11.9, tarsus 17.5 mm.
Females (3 from Costa Rica and Veraguas), wing 49.6—52.7
(50.7), tail 42.8-48.3 (45.8), culmen from base 10.9-11.7 (11.2),
tarsus 15.6-16.5 (15.9) mm.
Resident. Rare; recorded from the mountains of Veraguas.
The species in its nominate form was described from two specimens
now in the British Museum (Natural History), the type from Chitra
on the Pacific side, and another from Calovévora on the Caribbean
slope, both collected by Enrique Arcé, in 1868. It is known also from
the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica, where Ridgway secured a female
at Guayabo, March 9, 1908. There is also a male in the British
Museum taken at Carrillo, November 17, 1898, by C. F. Underwood.
Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 266-267)
found it at several localities in that country “apparently restricted to
the wettest portions of the cool subtropical belt.’ He recorded it as
traveling actively with bands of small birds, where its mannerisms
suggested those of a small warbler. Attention often was attracted to
it by its lively calls.
PHYLLOSCARTES SUPERCILIARIS PALLORIS (Griscom)
Mecocerculus superciliaris palloris Griscom, Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist.,
vol. 8, February 21, 1935, p. 200. (Tacarcuna village site, base of Cerro
Tacarcuna, Darién, Panama.)
Characters—Duller in general coloration above; crown darker;
back dull olive-green; paler on lower surface, both in the gray of
breast and the yellow of the abdomen.
Measurements—Males (2 from Darién), wing 52.9, 58.5, tail
49.8, 55.1, culmen from base 11.8, 11.8, tarsus 16.5, 17.2 mm.
Female (1 from Darién), wing 49.9, tail 48.5, culmen from base
11.5, tarsus 17.8 mm.
Resident. Rare; known only from the type locality, and from
Cerro Mali on the Tacarcuna mountain range.
In the original description Griscom, through a lapsus, listed the
type locality as “Tapalisa,”’ but in his check-list (Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., vol. 78, April 1935, p. 353) cited it correctly as “Mt. Tacarcuna,
February 24, 1915.” This marks the locality as the old Tacarcuna
village site at 575 meters elevation on the upper Rio Tacarcuna at
the base of Cerro Mali, a spur of Tacarcuna.
It was known also at the time of the original description from an
ancient Bogota trade skin in the Paris Museum (according to Griscom
in the original description). Two additional specimens, a female
542 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART Ss
and one with sex not marked but believed to be a male, in the Na-
tional Museum, were taken by Dr. Pedro Galindo, at 1060 meters on
the high ridge of Cerro Mali, June 4, 1963.
CAPSIEMPIS FLAVEOLA SEMIFLAVA (Lawrence):
Yellow Tyrannulet, Moscareta Amarilla
Elainea semiflava Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, November
1865, p. 177. (David, Chiriqui. )
Small, slender, with long, narrow tail; olive-green above; yellow
below ; line over eye, and two prominent wing bands, light yellow.
Description.—Length 105-112 mm. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface olive-green from crown to back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts,
rump, and upper tail coverts; wings dusky; middle and greater
coverts tipped broadly with pale yellow; primaries narrowly, secon-
daries broadly edged with yellowish olive-green; forehead, line above
lores and eye pale yellow; lores dusky; auricular region pale olive-
green, varied with indistinct shaft lines of dull yellow; tail grayish
brown, with outer webs edged with yellowish green; under surface,
including carpal edge of wing, axillars, and under wing coverts,
yellow (varying individually from bright yellow to yellowish white) ;
sides of upper breast washed lightly with dull olive; inner margins of
wing feathers edged narrowly with yellowish white.
Juvenile, upper surface dull cinnamon-brown, brighter on the hind-
neck; anterior lores dull white; line over eye and wing bars pale
cinnamon-brown.
A male, taken at El Potrero, Coclé, March 8, 1962, had the iris
very dark brown; maxilla and anterior half of sides of mandible
black ; rest of mandible dull buffy white; tarsus and toes dark neutral
gray; claws black; inside of mouth, including the tongue, orange.
A female, at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 12, 1966, had the
iris mouse brown; base of mandible dull brown; rest of bill fuscous-
brown; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws dull black.
Measurements —Males (10 from Isla Coiba, Chiriqui, Bocas del
Toro, Herrera, Canal Zone, and eastern Province of Panama), wing
49.5-52.3 (50.9), tail 48.1-51.5 (49.2), culmen from base 11.0-13.0
(11.6), tarsus 16.9-18.4 (17.6) mm.
Females (10 from Isla Coiba, Chiriqui, Herrera, Coclé, and Canal
Zone) wing 45.7-50.0 (47.6), tail 45.0-48.9 (47.2), culmen from
base 11.0-12.4 (11.6), tarsus 16.2-18.4 (16.7) mm.
Resident. Locally common in the Tropical Zone, on the Pacific
slope from western Chiriqui east locally, including the eastern side
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 543
of the Azuero Peninsula, to the lower Rio Bayano near Chepo,
eastern Province of Panama; on the Caribbean slope recorded in
western Bocas del Toro, northern Coclé, the Canal Zone, and adjacent
eastern Col6én; to 1300 meters on Cerro Pando, Chiriqui; Isla Coiba.
These small, active flycatchers are inhabitants of thickets and
undergrowth, ranging usually in pairs at the borders of open forest,
pastures, and cultivated areas. In Chiriqui, I found them in weed-
grown brush on the Rio Corotu, west of Puerto Armuelles, and near
Alanje, below Concepcion. Higher, in the foothills and lower moun-
tains, they were fairly common near Buena Vista (650 meters), and
along the base of Cerro Pando, beyond the Rio Chiriqui Viejo (1300
meters). They were fairly common also near Sona, Veraguas, and
on the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula in the Province of Her-
rera (La Cabuya, Pesé), and in Los Santos (Tonosi). In the low-
lands of Coclé I encountered them at El Potrero. They range locally
in the southern Canal Zone (Chiva Chiva, Curundu), and are re-
corded farther east in the eastern Province of Panama at La Jagua,
and on the lower Rio Bayano beyond Chepo.
On the Caribbean side, one was taken at Almirante, by one of the
collectors for the Gorgas Laboratory, the only record for that area.
In 1952, they were fairly common at FE] Uracillo, on the Caribbean
slope in northern Coclé Province near the headwaters of the Rio
Indio. They are found locally in the lower Chagres Valley in the
Canal Zone and in adjacent eastern Colon.
On Isla Coiba they ranged in small number in the thickets back
of mangroves, and also in second growth in abandoned fields. On
several occasions I found them visiting berry-bearing trees in company
with other small birds.
Alexander Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 319-321)
in southwestern Costa Rica, in the record of six nests, found them
breeding irregularly from February through May and June to Sep-
tember and December. The nests were “substantial open cups, com-
posed of light-colored vegetable fibers, grass blades, shreds of plant
epidermis and the like, with more or less green moss or selaginella
attached to the outer wall.” Two eggs in one nest were pure white,
with measurements of 17.1 13.1 and 17.5 13.1 mm.
In the notes of Major-General G. Ralph Meyer there is record
of a nest at the Summit Gardens, Canal Zone, on September 20, 1941.
It was made of coarse and fine grass placed in the fork of a small
tree about 2 meters above the ground. The two eggs measured 17.3 x
12.9 and 17.0 12.7 mm.
544 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
The nest with spotted eggs, described by Carriker (Ann. Carnegie
Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 710) as of this flycatcher, may have been that
of some other species.
As these slender little birds move actively through their cover the
long tail is switched from side to side. They often utter chattering
calls, and also sing in low, sweet-toned modulated phrases, wheet-eet,
wheet-eet, whee.
Their food is a variety of small insects, often seized in active
movement from the leaves of the shrubs through which the birds
range. I found them also coming to berry trees to eat the drupes in
company with other small birds.
The subspecies semiflava, found in Panama, ranges also through
Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
SERPOPHAGA CINEREA GRISEA Lawrence: Torrent
Tyrannulet, Moscareta de Torrentes
FiGcurE 46
Serpophaga grisea Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 10, No-
vember 1871, p. 139. (Near San José, Costa Rica.)
Small; breast and back gray; crown, tail, and wings black.
Description —Length 95-105 mm. Adult male, crown, sides of
head, and hindneck black ; a concealed area in the center of the crown
white ; back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail coverts gray; lesser wing
coverts slate-black centrally, edged with gray; rest of wing black,
with the greater and middle coverts edged with grayish white in the
form of indefinite bars ; tail dull black tipped indistinctly with grayish
white (this marking often lacking) ; chin and throat grayish white ;
breast, sides, flanks, axillars, and under wing coverts pale gray;
center of breast and abdomen white; under tail coverts and tibia
slightly grayish.
Female, with crown and hindneck slightly duller black ; white crown
patch reduced, in some nearly lacking.
Juvenile, crown dusky mixed with dull gray; upper surface
brownish gray, darker on the upper tail coverts.
In specimens taken near El Volcan, Chiriqui, in March 1954 and
1965, both male and female had the iris dark brown; bill black ; tarsus,
toes, and claws black; inside of mouth, including the tongue, orange.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
50.1-53.5 (51.9), tail 36.0-43.4 (40.1), culmen from base 10.2-11.0
(10.6), tarsus 15.3-16.5 (16.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 48.0-51.7
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 545
(50.1), tail 36.0-41.4 (38.1), culmen from base 9.4-11.0 (10.2,
average of 9), tarsus 15.8-16.5 (16.1) mm.
Resident. Found locally along swift mountain streams in the high-
lands of western Chiriqui and adjacent Bocas del Toro; in Chiriqui
from 1200 to 2000 meters (above Cerro Punta) ; recorded in eastern
Bocas del Toro at Guaval on the upper Rio Calovévora, near the
boundary with Veraguas.
The place of collection for a male in the British Museum ( Natural
History) taken by Arcé, marked “Santa Fe” (see Salvin, Proc. Zool.
Figure 46.—Torrent tyrannulet, moscareta de torrentes, Serpophaga cinerea
grisea.
Soc. London, 1867, p. 145) is in error as it is the only record for the
Pacific lowlands of Veraguas. Localities in these early collections
were sometimes confused, so that it seems probable that the record
refers to Calovévora, where Arcé recorded other species known
from the Caribbean slope.
In personal observations I have found this species especially in
Chiriqui, along the Rio Chiriqui Viejo, from west of El Volcan to
above Cerro Punta, and on a western tributary of the river, the Rio
Colorado, at a road crossing on the highway toward Costa Rica.
The birds usually are encountered in pairs along swift-running
546 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
streams, where their companions may be the Dipper and the Black
Phoebe. Torrent Tyrannulets, however, range alone, hopping and
running rapidly over gravel bars, sometimes even where a thin sheet
of water a millimeter or two deep spreads over a flat surface of stone
at the border of the stream. Insect food is picked from the gravel,
the water in shallows, or seized in quick sallies on the wing from the
sides of boulders or overhanging leaves. Such prey usually is
abundant, so that the requirements for food soon may be satisfied.
Then the birds rest quietly or preen their plumage on some open
perch, usually low down along the stream border.
Feathers in this species are dense and soft over the entire body
so that they form a close covering. In birds taken for specimens,
where one had fallen to float in swift water, or even when it may
have been drawn under the surface for several minutes before it was
retrieved, the feathers were not saturated, so that only a quick shake
was required to dry them.
As noted by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 356-364)
their low, soft calls may be repeated as a twittering song, sharp
enough in tone to be heard above the noise of the rushing waters be-
side them. Skutch also records a dawn song, a repetition of “‘a single
note . . . heard above the babble of the current.’”’ He describes the
nest as built by both parents, usually on a branch overhanging a
stream, or less commonly, along the adjacent shore. The well-made
cup externally is of green moss, with a lining of feathers. The two
eggs ina set are pale buff, without markings. In 14 eggs the measure-
ments averaged 16.5xX12.6 mm, ranging from 16.3-17.1x11.9-
12.7 mm. The female incubated alone, the period being 17 to 18 days.
Although the male did not assist, he remained nearby while his mate
was on the eggs, occasionally perching “beside or even upon the rim
of the nest to rest or to preen, and at times .. . would bill the
feathers of her head and breast in the most affectionate manner.”
The young at hatching have light gray down through which the pink
skin shows, with the inner mouth color yellowish orange. Both
parents feed the young. These remain with the parents for five or
six weeks, and then locate elsewhere so that ‘‘only a single pair
patrols each reach of the rushing mountain stream.”
W. John Smith (Condor, 1971, p. 260) recorded a nest with eggs
March 26 to 28, 1962, on the G. Lewis property below Cerro Punta.
On March 13, 1965, at Bambito, below Cerro Punta, Dennis Sheets
directed me to a nest that he had found the previous day. This was
on an islet in the main Rio Chiriqui Viejo, placed in a clump of bushes
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 547
growing on soil supported by a large rock, separated from the shore
by a meter and a half of swift-flowing water. The small, compact,
thick-walled cup rested on a sloping branch, with three leafy twigs
built into its sides as support. It was composed mainly of green moss,
held by long, slender fibers running through it so that it was firm and
closely knit. The soft lining was of downy feathers of the domestic
fowl, readily available at nearby houses. In external measurements
the nest was approximately 90 by 70 mm, and 60 mm high, with the
cup 40 mm deep. It held a single egg, well along in incubation, pale
dull buff in color, so fragile that it could not be measured. Nearby I
saw another nest, similar in construction but empty, placed in a low
shrub standing in the water at the edge of the stream.
In the collections of the British Museum (Natural History) I have
seen a set of two eggs of the very slightly larger Serpophaga cinerea
cinerea, collected by T. K. Salmon, at Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia,
that are similar to those of the race of western Panama. The two are
rather dull buffy white, subelliptical in form, and measure 16.4 x 12.6
and 16.4 x 12.1 mm.
Smith (cit. supra, pp. 259-286) in a detailed analysis of the
Serpophagine group of flycatchers describes the northern race and
nominate cinerea in Ecuador as closely similar in details of general
behavior. In figure 3, line 2, of this reference he illustrates a vocaliza-
tion record made in Panama that he indicated as “the most complex
units” found.
PHAEOMYIAS MURINA EREMONOMA Wetmore: Mouse-
colored Tyrannulet, Moscareta Pardusca
Phaeomyias murina eremonoma Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 122,
no. 8, December 17, 1953, p. 7. (Rio Santa Maria, north of Paris, Province
of Herrera, Panama. )
Small; grayish brown above; breast grayish, abdomen yellowish
white ; light line above eye.
Description —Length 105-115 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
with crown, back, and sides of head dull drab-brown ; rump and upper
tail coverts faintly browner ; superciliary and lower eyelids dull white ;
lores light grayish olive; wings dull hair brown; lesser wing coverts
edged, and middle and greater wing coverts tipped, with dull buff;
secondary borders usually paler, whiter; tail dull hair brown, with
outer webs and tip dull olive-buff; throat and foreneck dull white;
upper breast and sides pale, dull gray; lower breast and abdomen
pale yellow; under tail coverts somewhat whiter; tibia drab-brown,
548 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
edged narrowly on lower end with yellowish white ; axillars and under
wing coverts yellowish white; bend of wing lined with hair brown.
Juvenile, darker, more olive above, with upper tail coverts browner ;
breast duller gray ; throat grayish white ; abdomen paler.
A female, collected January 17, 1963, near Aguadulce, Coclé, in
the area known as Gallo, had the iris brown; maxilla and tip of
mandible fuscous ; base of mandible dull buffy white ; tarsus, toes, and
claws dull black.
Measurements.—Males (16 from Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos,
and western Province of Panama), wing 54.8-60.5 (56.8), tail 48.7-
56.2 (51.5), culmen from base 10.0-11.6 (10.8), tarsus 17.0-18.3
(17.7) mm.
Females (13 from Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos), wing
49.8-55.9 (52.8), tail 44.5-48.3 (46.7, average of 12), culmen from
base 9.9-11.5 (10.4, average of 12), tarsus 15.8-18.3 (16.9) mm.
Resident. Locally common in thorn scrub and other thickets, in
the savanna area, from Sona, southern Veraguas, east through the
Azuero Peninsula in eastern Herrera, eastern and southern Los
Santos, eastern Coclé, and western Province of Panama, in the coastal
lowlands to Nueva Gorgona, and the Rio Sajalices, west of La
Campana.
Because of its restricted distribution this species was not found
in Panama by early workers. It was first recorded (under the name
P. m. incomta) by Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935,
p. 353) as found on “arid plains near Agua Dulce” with no other
comment. Another early record in print is of a female collected by
R. R. Benson, at El Villano, about 25 kilometers southeast of San-
tiago, Veraguas, in September 1924, recorded also under the name
incomta by Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 1109, 1941, p. 10). My
first acquaintance with it came in February and March 1948, when I
found it fairly common in the Azuero Peninsula, through Herrera,
ranging south into the Province of Los Santos. Through this
familiarity it was noted frequently elsewhere until the range was
established as outlined above.
These are plain-colored little birds, rather nondescript in appear-
ance, that attract attention by their active movements through the
fairly open branches of the low shrubbery that they inhabit. In addi-
tion, they often utter chattering, trilling calls as a form of song.
Birds in breeding condition were found from late February to May.
They captured small insects for food and also fed with other small
birds at berry-bearing bushes and trees.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 549
Haverschmidt (Birds of Surinam, 1968, p. 337 ; and Condor, 1970,
p. 374) gives an account of nesting in the subspecies Phaeomyias
murina wagae, which differs in heavier bill, darker brown coloration
of the back, and yellower breast, and occupies a broad area from
eastern Pertti through the valley of the Amazon, extending also to the
Guianas. He describes the nest as a small, open cup of fine grasses
and green moss, lined with a thick layer of feathers, and the two eggs
as white. The female alone incubates, with the period 14 days, but
both parents feed the young. The main food was the orange berries
of a mistletoe (Phthirusa pirifolia), a species of wide distribution in
Central America and South America. The parent birds also captured
insects.
At La Palma, in eastern Los Santos, Panama, on March 26, 1948,
I found a pair of the race eremonoma starting a nest a meter above
the ground in a thorny shrub. Two days later the foundation was
completed but the nest itself not finished. Unfortunately, | was not
able to follow it further. Birds in breeding condition were recorded
elsewhere from the middle of March to the first week in June.
In field observations I found these birds quite similar in general
habits to the Beardless Flycatcher, which however, differed noticeably
in much smaller size. As information and specimens increased, it
became evident that the population of Panama differed in paler color
and smaller size from P. m. incomta of Colombia. It was, therefore,
separated under the subspecific name eremonoma (from the Greek
words signifying isolated, alone).
The size difference is shown by comparison with the following
measurements of a series of incomta from Colombia:
Males (23 specimens), wing 60.1-64.4 (62.2), tail 51.0-58.9
(54.9), culmen from base 10.3-11.7 (10.9), tarsus 16.4-19.4 (18.4).
Females (12 specimens), wing 55.2-60.5 (57.8), tail 46.4—50.8
(49.1), culmen from base 10.2-11.0 (10.5), tarsus 16.2-17.1
(16.6) mm.
ELAENIA FRANTZII FRANTZII Lawrence: Mountain Elaenia,
Papamoscas Montafiés
Elainia Frantzii Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, November
1865, p. 172. (San José, Costa Rica.)
Medium size; breast and sides grayish olive, abdomen pale yellow ;
crown without white, or with this marking much reduced ; white spot
on inner tertials broad and prominent.
Length 142-155 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above brownish olive;
550 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
center of crown unmarked, or rarely a few anterior crown feathers
with short white streaks concealed on the base ; wings dusky ; middle
and greater coverts with outer webs edged with whitish to yellowish
olive, forming two bands; secondaries broadly edged with white to
pale olive-yellow, this mark covering most of. the outer web on the
innermost feather, where it forms a distinct light-colored spot; pri-
maries with outer margin pale olive; tail deep grayish brown edged
indistinctly with dull greenish olive; sides of head and neck slightly
paler than crown; a faint line on upper lores, and an indistinct orbital
ring, pale olive to whitish olive; forepart of under surface and sides
yellowish to pale grayish olive, changing to pale yellowish white on
center of breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts ; axillars, under wing
coverts and carpal edge of wing pale yellowish.
Juvenile, upper surface from crown to upper tail coverts dull
olive-brown; wing bands brownish buff, with distal spots on secon-
daries reduced.
An adult male, taken February 26, 1954, near El Volcan, Chiriqui,
had the iris dark brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-brown ;
rest of mandible pale brownish white; tarsus and toes dark neutral
gray, with under side of toes faintly yellowish white. A female from
the same area, March 1, 1965, had the iris similar ; maxilla and tip of
mandible fuscous-black; rest of mandible very pale brownish white ;
tarsus, toes and claws black; inside of mouth, including all of tongue,
rather dull orange.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 78.5-82.6 (80.9),
tail 68.4-75.4 (71.2), culmen from base 12.6-14.0 (13.3), tarsus 17.5-
18.9 (18.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui), wing 73.3-78.3 (75.1), tail 63.3-69.6
(66.1), culmen from base 12.0-13.7 (12.7), tarsus 17.1-18.0
(17.6) mm.
A male taken at El Volcan, February 26, 1954, had the iris dark
brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-brown ; rest of mandible
pale brownish white; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; under side
of toes faintly yellowish white. A female, from the same locality,
March 1, 1965, had the iris very dark brown; maxilla and tip of
mandible fuscous-black ; rest of mandible very pale brownish white ;
tarsus and toes black; inside of mouth, including all of tongue rather
dull orange.
Resident. Common in the upper Tropical and Subtropical zones in
Chiriqui, especially on the slopes of the volcano, near El Volcan
and Boquete; also on Cerro Flores. Found less commonly in Vera-
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 551
guas at Chitra, and in the Azuero Peninsula on Cerro Montuosa, on
the boundary between Herrera and Veraguas. Reported to 3300
meters on the summit of the volcano, common to 2500 meters.
As the name implies, this is a true mountain species found from
the upper margin of the Tropical Zone at 1250 meters through the
Subtropical Zone to Temperate Zone elevations above 3000 meters on
the slopes of Volcan Bart. In this range it is most abundant above
1500 meters. It is found regularly in the tops of trees in the forests
where often it is quiet and remains hidden among the leaves. It
ranges regularly also in the scattered shrubbery and lines of bushes
and low trees of open meadows and is there more easily seen. Where
food is abundant in the form of insects or berries these birds may be
seen in group association, though they are not social; they range as
single birds and usually they are belligerent toward others of their
kind.
Low call notes are heard from them regularly, usually a slightly
prolonged pee-ee-er, varied somewhat in depth of sound. Skutch
records them singing a rather monotonous repetition of a single
syllable. While regular in early morning, this was continued also on
occasion into the middle of the day. They also have rattling, twitter-
ing calls.
Like Eisenmann and other observers I have found this species most
common from the Llanos del Volcan to the slopes near and above
Cerro Punta, where often dozens have congregated because of the
abundant berry-bearing trees and bushes.
Blake (Condor, 1956, p. 387) described three nests collected by
T. B. Monniche on the Finca Lérida above Boquete, in April and
May. All, placed low down in coffee trees, were open cups made of
rootlets covered with moss and lined with horse hairs and a few
feathers. The average size was about 90 by 50 mm, with the cup about
65 mm in diameter by 20 mm deep. The two eggs in each were “dull
white marked, chiefly on the larger end, with a few reddish-brown
spots and dots. Measurements of three eggs: 21.3 16.5, 18.5 x 14.9,
18.8 15 mm.”
In observations in Costa Rica Skutch (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club 7,
1967, pp. 97-99) recorded that nest building and incubation were
the function of the female, with the male assisting later in feeding the
young. The set in 11 nests was two eggs which ranged “from dull
white to pale buff in ground color, marked with spots and blotches of
pale cinnamon, rusty brown, or chocolate, which usually formed a
wreath around the broad end and are thinly scattered elsewhere. In
552 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
shape the eggs may be short ovate and blunt or more elongate and
pointed. The measurements of seven eggs average 20.3 15.7 mm.
. . extremes measured 22.0 x 15.0, 19.9 16.1, and 19.1 x 15.6 mm.”
In the Cordillera Central of Costa Rica eggs were found between
April 9 and June 2.
He describes the nestling at hatching as with a yellow to pinkish
skin that “bears sparse, dark gray down... . The nestling’s bill,
tarsi and toes are bright yellow.”
Earlier writings have included frantzti as a subspecies of Elaenia
obscura. Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 1108, 1941, pp. 15-16)
doubts this relationship, pointing out the considerable gap in the
range of frantzti as well as its differences in coloration. The extensive
series that I have examined confirm his findings. Nominate frantzii
ranges north through Costa Rica to Nicaragua. In Honduras it is
replaced by Elaenia frantzu ultima Griscom (described in Ibis, 1935,
p- 550) of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, which is some-
what darker, less greenish olive above, and darker, more olivaceous
on the breast and sides.
Lawrence named the species for Dr. A. von Frantzius, a German
naturalist, in recognition of his studies of the birds of Costa Rica.
ELAENIA CHIRIQUENSIS CHIRIQUENSIS Lawrence:
Lesser Elaenia, Mofoncita
Elainea Chiriquensis Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, No-
vember 1865, p. 176. (David, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Elaenia sordidata Bangs, Auk, vol. 18, no. 1, January 1901, p. 28. (San Miguel
Island = Isla del Rey, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Panama. )
Medium size, somewhat smaller and more slender than the Moun-
tain Elaenia, with light area on tertials less prominent.
Description—Length 125-145 mm. Adult (sexes alike) above
grayish olive to olivaceous hair brown, with crown feathers somewhat
darker centrally, these markings forming faintly outlined streaks;
center of crown with concealed white bases, in some these reduced or,
rarely, absent; wings dusky; middle and greater coverts broadly
tipped with brownish gray to white; inner secondaries narrowly
edged with white; primaries edged distally with brownish gray to
somewhat greenish white; tail dark grayish brown, edged with pale
grayish brown, and tipped lightly with white; sides of head some-
what paler than crown; supraloral region and eye-ring paler, the
latter varying to white; chin and throat dull grayish white; foreneck,
upper breast, and sides, somewhat yellowish gray; lower breast,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 553
abdomen, under tail coverts, axillars, edge of wing, and under wing
coverts pale yellow; tibia dusky tipped with yellowish white.
Juvenile, faintly browner above, especially on the upper tail coverts
and tail.
A male, at El Volcan, Chiriqui, February 26, 1954, and another
at El Copé, Coclé, February 22, 1962, had the iris dark brown;
maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous; base of mandible flesh color ;
tarsus, toes, and claws black. A female from Gago, Coclé, January 20,
1963, had the iris brown; distal half of bill fuscous-black; base of
mandible flesh color, of maxilla dark mouse brown; tarsus, toes, and
claws black. In another female, from Isla Gobernadora, Veraguas,
collected January 8, 1965, the iris was brown, tip of bill fuscous
brown; base of maxilla dull brown, of mandible brownish flesh color ;
tarsus and toes dark neutral gray ; claws black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera,
Coclé, and Province of Panama), wing 71.4-78.7 (74.2), tail 57.8-
64.2 (62.3), culmen from base 12.0-13.7 (12.9), tarsus 16.0-17.0
(16.4) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, Los Santos, Herrera,
Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 65.5-70.1 (67.8), tail
54.5-59.6 (56.6), culmen from base 11.6-12.8 (12.2), tarsus 15.9-
16.7 (16.3) mm.
Resident. Common, mainly in the Tropical Zone, occasionally to
1900 meters in the Subtropical Zone on open slopes; on the Pacific
slope from western Chiriqui east through Veraguas, Coclé, the eastern
side of the Azuero Peninsula (south to Tonosi), and Province of
Panama to the La Jagua marshes and the lower Rio Bayano; in the
Canal Zone extending north on the Caribbean slope in the lower
Chagres Valley (Barro Colorado Island). Isla Coiba; Islas Gober-
nadora and Cébaco, Golfo de Montijo; Archipiélago de las Perlas
(Islas San José, Rey, Viveros). On Volcan de Chiriqui to 1825
meters at Cerro Punta, 1900 meters above Llanos del Volcan, and
1600 meters above Boquete; 850 meters on Cerro Campana.
While ranging widely in forested areas, this species is noticed
most often in open areas of scattered trees and shrubbery. It is
common on slopes in the foothills of the mountains in open growth
in pastures and the borders of cultivated lands. It may be recorded
at times in gallery forest. On Isla Coiba, while they were common
in the usual haunts of low second growth and the bushes in pasture-
land, they lived regularly also among the leaves in the tops of the
tallest trees far above the ground.
554 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
While the range as a whole coincides with that of the Yellow-
bellied Elaenia, the present species usually is less in evidence, as it
remains more in cover and is much less vociferous in its calls. On
the whole, in its actions it is more like the Mountain Elainea. It
differs from that species in plainer coloration, and its slightly smaller
size. Lesser Elaenias come constantly to fruiting trees and shrubs
to eat the berries, a conspicuous habit, but one that supplies only a
part of their diet. Constantly they search through leaves and smaller
branches for insects and spiders whose fragments often completely
fill their stomachs. Some of this food may be taken in short snatches
and little flycatching sallies. It is usual also to find their stomachs
filled with small fragments of chitin from bees, other small hymen-
optera, and a variety of beetles, most captured in the air, but so
quietly that the considerable proportion of insects in the food may
not be suspected.
Skutch in a detailed account of life history and habits in this species
(Pac. Coast Avif. no. 34, 1960, pp. 307-318), mainly as seen in Costa
Rica where they are common, described the usual note as ‘“‘a low
short whistle, sometimes soft and sometimes harsh in tone, which is
often repeated over and over at intervals of a few seconds.” They
also have a dawn song of several syllables. In evening, from March
through June, birds assumed to be males regularly rise in twisting
flight in the air, and then suddenly drop back to cover as they give this
song.
The nest, built by the female, is an open cup placed in a fork in
a bush or tree from half a meter to 10 meters from the ground. It is
built of bits of dry grass, moss, and other fibrous material, bound as
needed by cobweb. In general the nest resembles that of the Yellow-
bellied Elaenia, but may be more lightly formed and more flimsy in
construction, also with fewer feathers for lining. The outer surface
varies in ornamentation from a slight to a heavy covering of moss.
Two eggs are usual in a set, though nests often hold only one. They
are “short ovate and blunt, dull white, with a wreath about the thicker
end of usually fine but sometimes heavy spots of brown,” varying in
depth of shade. In some, spots of this color are scattered over the
entire surface and may vary in shade to lilac. Eggs range in size
from 19.8 x 14.3 and 19.4 x 15.5 to 16.7 x 13.9 mm.
Incubation is by the female alone, with the male assisting later in
feeding the young. These on hatching have pink skins with tufts of
long, light gray down in tracts along the center of the crown, above
the eye, and on the hindhead, back, and sides. Shorter bits that in part
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 555
are whitish, appear between these longer tufts. Two broods may be
reared in the season, which extends from April to June.
The range in Panama seems to be restricted to the original open
areas of less heavy forests. The present extension to the Caribbean
side of the Canal Zone may have come during changes through de-
forestation in the expansion of human activities. Except for this
limited area, the nominate race is confined to the Pacific slope and its
off-lying islands. In South America where the species ranges widely
there are other subspecies in eastern Bolivia and Brazil.
The record for Isla Viveros, in the Pearl Islands, is based on two
females collected by C. Bovallius April 5 and 11, 1882, reported by
Rendahl (Ark. Zool., vol. 13, 1920, pp. 36-37).
In Panama the insular populations on Isla Coiba and in the Pearl
Islands do not differ appreciably from those of the mainland.
ELAENIA FLAVOGASTER (Thunberg): Yellow-bellied
Elaenia, Monona
Pipra flavogaster Thunberg, Mem. Acad. Sci. St. Pétersb. vol. 8, 1822, p. 286.
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.)
Somewhat larger than other species of the genus found in Panama;
with a more prominent pointed crest; color olive to greenish olive
above.
Description—Length 145-155 mm. Crown feathers elongated
slightly, narrowed and pointed distally. Adult (sexes alike), upper
surface, including scapulars, olive to greenish olive, paler and more
brownish on rump and upper tail coverts; crown darker with indis-
tinct shaft lines of dusky, and bases of central feathers with a distinct
area of white, or faintly yellowish white varying somewhat in extent,
most prominent in adult males; wings dusky; greater and middle
coverts tipped broadly with grayish brown to white ; secondaries edged
distally with olive-yellow, forming an indistinct patch; inner secon-
daries bordered prominently with white; tail dark grayish brown,
faintly paler on edges of outer feathers, in fresh plumage, tipped
lightly with brownish white; lores pale grayish to grayish white,
often darker centrally, with whiter lines above and below continuous
with a narrow white line around the eye; side of head grayish olive,
lined faintly with grayish white, merging below with the grayish white
of the throat; foreneck, sides, and upper breast somewhat yellowish
gray on throat and upper foreneck, with the individual feathers often
paler laterally, so that they appear faintly streaked; lower sides and
flanks paler; rest of under surface, including the carpal edge of the
556 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
wing, axillars, and under wing coverts light yellow ; under surface of
primaries with inner margin dull grayish white.
Juvenile, upper surface somewhat browner; under surface whiter,
less yellowish ; without white in the crown.
This, as stated above, is the largest of the elaenias found in Central
America. As a species, it ranges in the Tropical and lower Subtropical
zones from southern México to Pert, Brazil, and Paraguay. Through
this vast area these birds are surprisingly uniform in color, and in
pattern of markings, with only slight regional variation. Seasonal
changes in shade of coloration throughout are considerable, specimens
in freshly molted dress being more brightly colored than those taken
only two or three months later at the beginning of the nesting season.
Exposure to light and wear dull the depth of shade rather quickly,
a process that continues at a retarded pace until the next molt. In
making comparisons it is necessary to ascertain that the birds exam-
ined are in an equivalent stage of plumage. Bearing this in mind,
with suitable series, it is possible to separate the birds in the broad
area outlined in three slightly different groups. These are as follows:
Elaema flavogaster subpagana Sclater and Salvin, marked by
darker, more brownish olive coloration above, regardless of the stage
of plumage. Found from the northern limit southward through
Costa Rica and on Isla Coiba, Panama. A supposed variant named
saturata is merely a seasonal stage of this generally darker population.
Elaema flavogaster pallididorsalis Aldrich, grayer and faintly more
greenish dorsally in all stages of plumage. In Panama, it is found
on the Pacific slope from western Chiriqui to the eastern sector of the
Province of Panama, rarely to western Darién; on the Caribbean
slope in western Colon, the lower Chagres Valley and western San
Blas. In December 1955, I collected specimens in fresh plumage on
the Islands of Taboga, Taboguilla, and Urava. With these, and
additional series from the mainland available, the race cristula that I
had described earlier from these islands appears too slightly differen-
tiated from pallididorsalis to warrant recognition. This proves true
also for silvicultrix, named from Isla San José, with distribution
through other islands of the Archipiélago de Las Perlas. The birds
of Isla Coiba, assigned originally under this latter name prove to
be definitely darker, in this agreeing with subpagana of northern
Central America.
Elaenia flavogaster flavogaster (Thunberg). Similar to pallididor-
salis, but gray of chest averaging faintly darker; dorsal surface also
slightly darker gray, and without the faint greenish olive cast of the
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 557
race of Panama. Though slightly darker above, in this suggesting
the northern race subpagana, the nominate form is grayer, less brown-
ish olive. As it is recorded only to northwestern Colombia in the
departments of Antioquia and Cordoba, there appears to be a con-
siderable gap in the total range of the species in eastern Darién and
eastern San Blas. Measurements of EF. f. flavogaster are as follows:
Males (10 from Colombia), wing 79.2-81.6 (80.3), tail 67.8-74.1
(70.7), culmen from base 12.2-13.4 (12.7), tarsus 18.5-19.9 (18.9)
mm.
Females (10 from Colombia), wing 75.0-78.1 (77.2), tail 64.2-
69.3 (67.4), culmen from base 12.0-13.2 (12.7), tarsus 18.3-19.5
(18.8) mm.
A series from northern Brazil is very slightly smaller, thus agreeing
closely in size with E. f. pallididorsalis.
ELAENIA FLAVOGASTER SUBPAGANA Sclater and Salvin
Elaema subpagana P. L. Sclater and O. Salvin, Ibis, ser. 1, vol. 2, no. 5,
January 1860, p. 36. (Duefias, Guatemala. )
Elaenia flavogaster saturata Brodkorb, Occ. Papers Mus. Zool., Univ. Mich.,
no. 478, November 5, 1943, p. 1. (Palenque, Chiapas. )
Darker, somewhat brownish olive, above; grayer on the breast, and
faintly darker on the side of the head.
Measurements——Males (6 from Isla Coiba), wing 76.0-79.7
(78.0), tail 69.3-71.8 (70.7), culmen from base 12.4-14.0 (13.4),
tarsus 19.0-19.6 (19.1) mm.
Females (7 from Coiba), wing 74.0-76.5 (75.4), tail 69.1-74.0
(71.8), culmen from base 12.5-14.0 (13.1), tarsus 18.5-19.8
(18.9) mm.
Resident. Common on Isla Coiba.
The Yellow-bellied Elaenia was the more common of the two
species of this genus found on Isla Coiba, and as usual, came con-
stantly to attention through its calls. With other birds they visited
berry-bearing trees, and also were seen regularly along the borders of
cultivated fields where thickets afforded cover, and in the low tree
growth along the lower courses of the small rivers near the sea. On
Coiba they ranged regularly also in the tree crown of the tall forests
over the inland hills, where they lived high above the ground, a custom
that I have not noted except casually elsewhere.
In the account of the avifauna of the island published in 1957 I
identified the Coiba population of this species under the name silvi-
cultrix that I had proposed for the population of the Archipiélago de
558 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
las Perlas. As explained above, with the larger series now available
this supposed race has proved invalid. In darker dorsal coloration the
Coiba series differs from that of mainland Panama and resembles
the average of the northern race Elaenia flavogaster subpagana found
from southern Costa Rica north to México. The Coiba birds there-
fore are listed under this name. It should be noted, however, that the
16 specimens available from the island are uniformly darker gray on
upper breast, foreneck, and side of the head, while only part of the
mainland series equal them in depth of these markings.
For comparison, measurements of the mainland population are
given.
Males (10 from México, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica), wing 76.3-82.3 (79.6), tail 69.1-74.0 (71.8), culmen
from base 12.2-14.5 (13.6), tarsus 18.9-19.8 (19.4) mm.
Females (10 from the same area), wing 73.3-78.7 (76.2), tail
64.7-71.6 (67.5), culmen from base 12.5-13.6 (13.0), tarsus 18.9-
19.9 (19:3) mm.
ELAENIA FLAVOGASTER PALLIDIDORSALIS Aldrich
Elaenia flavogastra pallididorsalis Aldrich, Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 7, August 31, 1937, p. 106. (Paracoté, Mouth of Rio Angulo,
Golfo de Montijo, Veraguas, Panama. ) '
Elaenia flavogaster silvicultrix Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 59,
March 11, 1946, p. 51. (Isla San José, Archipiélago de las Perlas, Panama.)
Elaenia flavogaster cristula Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 121, no. 2,
December 2, 1952, p. 22. (Isla Taboga, Panama. )
Characters.—Paler, more greenish olive above, somewhat brighter
yellow on abdomen.
A male, taken March 5, 1961, at the Candelaria Hydrographic
Station on the Rio Pequeni, above Madden Lake, had the iris light
wood brown; maxilla and tip of mandible fuscous-black ; base of man-
dible brownish white; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; claws
black. A female at El Llano, Panama, February 3, 1962, had the iris
dark wood brown; base of maxilla fuscous, changing to fuscous-
black at tip; tip of mandible also fuscous-black, with the base dull
brownish white; tarsus, toes, and claws black. In another female at
Aguadulce, Coclé, January 17, 1963, the iris was dark reddish brown ;
tip of bill, including maxilla and mandible, fuscous-black; base of
maxilla dark mouse brown, that of mandible dull pinkish flesh color ;
back of tarsus at upper end neutral gray; the front and lower part,
toes and claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos,
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 559
Coclé, and Canal Zone), wing 76.0-80.4 (78.1), tail 66.2-74.1 (70.9),
culmen from base 12.8-13.7 (13.1), tarsus 19.0-20.6 (19.5) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Coclé, and Canal Zone),
wing 73.6-78.0 (75.1), tail 64.0-71.2 (68.3), culmen from base
12.3-13.9 (12.9), tarsus 19.1-20.3 (19.3) mm.
Resident. Locally common, in the Tropical Zone; on the Pacific
slope from western Chiriqui, east through Veraguas and the Azuero
Peninsula to the lower Bayano Valley (Chepo, El Llano), Chiman
in the eastern sector of the Province of Panama, and Punta Sabana,
at the mouth of the Rio Tuira, western Darién; on the Caribbean
slope from the Rio Indio (at Chilar and Rio Indio, western Colon,
and El Uracillo, northern Coclé), east to the lower Chagres Valley,
and Mandinga, western Comarca de San Blas; in Chiriqui to 1900
meters above Cerro Punta, and 1615 meters above Boquete. Isla
Parida, Golfo de Chiriqui. In Veraguas, on Isla Afuerita, off Bahia
Honda, and Islas Gobernadora and Cébaco, Golfo de Montijo. Islas
Taboga, Taboguilla, and Urava. Archipiélago de las Perlas (Islas
San José, Pedro Gonzalez, Rey, and Saboga).
On the mainland they are common along the Pacific side to near the
Rio Bayano, and then become less abundant. In 1950 several lived
near Chiman in the upper edge of the village. The most eastern
record, for Punta Sabana, Darién, is a male collected by Festa, June
24, 1895 (recorded by Salvadori and Festa, Bol. Mus. Zool. Anat.
Comp. Roy. Univ. Torino, vol. 14, 1899, p. 5). On the Caribbean
side, in 1952 I found them common along the Rio Indio in western
Colon, and also inland at El Uracillo in the foothills in northern
Coclé.
This is the most conspicuous of the species of its genus in Panama,
both from its size and from its wheezy calls. It is found mainly
around open areas in the border of tree growth, especially where there
are clearings. Often it comes into villages, near farms, and to the
suburban areas of larger towns. They are especially conspicuous in
the nesting season from the end of January through June, when
males call regularly, and appear constantly with pointed crests fully
raised so that the white feathers in the center show clearly.
In addition to the loud wheezy notes heard through the day, Skutch
(Pac. Coast Avif. 34, 1960, p. 289) describes a dawn song, given only
in early morning, a steady repetition of two notes, we do, we do,
occasionally more loudly accented, but with no other variation. These
calls begin at the first hint of daylight and continue steadily until the
sun appears, when they change to the harsher, more varied sounds in
560 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
which the female joins. (While his notes, made in Costa Rica, refer
to the race subpagana, this song is heard also in Panama.)
The nesting season, as stated, begins at the end of January, and is
most active from early March into June. Nests are compactly made,
open cups, well supported in forks of open branches. Skutch (loc.
cit., pp. 290-292) found the males aiding regularly in building, though
he believed that the bulk of the work was performed by the females.
The base and walls of the nest are formed of bits of filamentous or
soft vegetable material, bound by cobweb, with the exterior covered
by gray and greenish lichens and fragments of moss. The fairly
abundant lining is of feathers.
The two eggs in the usual set are dull white marked with spots of
dull to cinnamon-brown varied to lilac, mainly in a circlet around the
larger end. A set of two, the usual number, collected by Major-
General G. R. Meyer at Summit, Canal Zone, April 19, 1944, measured
21.8x15.7 and 22.3x16.2 mm. Another set of two recorded by
Hallinan (Auk, 1924, p. 316) is described as “dull white, with red-
dish brown and faint purple spots which were almost entirely con-
fined to the larger end.’’ These measured 21.8 x 16.5, and 21.6 x 16.0
mm. (Other nests described by this author may be of uncertain
identity, as one is said to have held four eggs, and another three.)
Skutch (loc. cit., p. 303) says that the nestling (of the race E. f.
subpagana) at hatching “has short, whitish down in restricted linear
tracts along the middle of the crown, above the eyes, across the hind-
head, down the middle of the back, along the flanks, and on the wings
and the outer side of the thighs.”’
These elaenias are seen regularly capturing small insects on the
wing and also coming constantly to various berry-bearing trees.
Some of the fruits eaten are of fair size with large pits.
MYIOPAGIS VIRIDICATA ACCOLA Bangs. Greenish
Elaenia, Mofiona Verdosa
Myiopagis placens accola Bangs, Proc. New England Zodl. Club, vol. 3,
January 30, 1902, p. 35. (Boquete, 1220 meters elevation, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Rather small; slightly crested; olive-green above; with crown
darker at sides, and a large, partly concealed, central patch of bright
yellow.
Description Length 125-138 mm. Adult male, center of crown
bright yellow, with anterior area basally more or less white; sides of
crown grayish brown to olive, with the bright central color tipping
the lateral and frontal feathers ; back, scapulars, and upper tail coverts
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 561
dark to light olive-green; rump usually faintly paler; wings dusky ;
primaries edged with olive-green; secondaries bordered with olive-
yellow; greater and middle coverts tipped narrowly and indistinctly
with dull olive-yellow; tail grayish brown, edged on the lateral
feathers, especially at the base, with olive-green, in unworn state
tipped lightly with dull white; lores grayish white, with a dusky
central spot anterior to the eye; upper and lower eyelids lined nar-
rowly with white, that on the upper lid is continuous with a post-
ocular streak of grayish white; auricular region dusky with indefinite
shaft lines of white; chin and throat dull white basally, washed with
pale gray ; foreneck and upper breast dull gray, lined indefinitely with
whitish; lower breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and under tail coverts
light yellow ; axillars and under wing coverts somewhat paler yellow ;
inner webs of wing feathers dull white.
Female, similar, but with yellow crown patch of lesser extent.
Juvenile, upper surface dull wood brown, slightly darker on the
crown: crown patch absent or faintly indicated by whitish bases on
a few feathers ; breast darker gray.
A male, taken at Las Palmitas, Los Santos, January 25, 1962, had
the iris dark brown; base of mandible dull brownish white; rest of
bill brownish black; tarsus and toes fuscous-black. In a female, at
Juan Mina, Canal Zone, January 12, 1961, the iris was wood brown;
base of mandible light mouse brown;; rest of bill neutral gray ; tarsus
and toes dark neutral gray ; claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Los Santos, eastern
Province of Panama, and Pearl Islands), wing 64.5-71.6 (67.8),
tail 58.2-66.0 (62.0), culmen from base 11.8-13.4 (12.5), tarsus
18.2-19.8 (18.9) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, and Pearl Islands), wing
61.0-64.4 (63.1), tail 52.9-59.3 (56.7), culmen from base 11.9-12.9
(12.2), tarsus 17.0-18.7 (17.8) mm.
Resident. Fairly common locally in forest areas in the Tropical
Zone and the lower edge of the Subtropical Zone, on the Pacific
slope, from western Chiriqui, eastward through Veraguas, the Azuero
Peninsula, the southern Canal Zone, and the eastern sector of the
Province of Panama to the lower Rio Bayano (Chepo, San Antonio) ;
rarely to western Darién (Garachiné) ; Archipiélago de las Perlas
(Islas San José, del Rey, Saboga, Viveros, Bayoneta) ; Isla Urava,
Bahia de Panama; Isla Verde, in the northern end of Golfo de
Montijo, Veraguas; Isla Coiba; to 1525 meters above Boquete and
El Volcan, Chiriqui.
562 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
I have found them mainly in the tops of undergrowth in the forests,
where they moved quietly, usually alone, occasionally in company
with small groups of other birds. In Chiriqui and in the Province of
Los Santos in the Azuero Peninsula they were mainly in heavier
stands of forest, but in the lowlands were encountered also in more
open areas. At La Jagua they lived in somewhat scattered under-
growth through the narrow lines of trees along the borders of the
marshes. They came occasionally to eat drupes of shrubs and trees,
and also plucked insects from leaves. It was common for one to rest
quietly for several minutes, usually on some sheltered perch, when
it suggested an Empidonax or other small species of the family. In
my experience they were silent.
On Isla Verde one ranged near the shore in the border of man-
groves. In the forests on Isla San José they inhabited the stands of
tall trees along the streams.
Little is known of their nesting. A male, collected May 19, 1953,
at Sona, Veraguas, was in breeding stage. Another male, near breed-
ing, was collected in the undergrowth in deeply shaded woodland on
Isla Urava, near Isla Taboga, December 26, 1955. J. Stuart Rowley
(Condor, 1962, pp. 256-257, fig. 1), in Morelos, southern México,
found the nests of the closely related Myiopagis v. placens through
watching and following females carrying nesting material. The nest,
from his description and a photograph was a shallow cup woven of
vegetable fibers, with the bottom and lower sides so thin that the
contents were visible from the sides. Nests were placed in terminal
crotches in the tops of low trees a few meters above the ground.
His illustration shows eggs with a white or whitish background
“handsomely marked with heavy lilac and chocolate brown colored
streaks and blotches over most of the surface.” Three nests found
in June and July held two eggs each. In one set these measured
18X13 and 1712.5 mm. and in another, 17.813 and 17.6X 13.1
mm. Dr. Eisenmann has brought to my attention description of an-
other set of eggs of the race placens from British Honduras (Oates
and Reid, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 3, 1903, p. 196, pl. 4, fig. 16).
These, collected by F. Blancaneaux, are described as “cream-coloured,
streaked and spotted, more densely at the broad end where the mark-
ings form a wide zone, with purplish brown and deep lavender.”
The two eggs in this set, said to have been taken in May, measure
18.0 x 13.7 and 18.2 x 12.9 mm.
The record for Garachiné, Darién, listed above is a specimen in the
Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, collected in April
1941, on the Fifth George Vanderbilt Expedition.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 563
The population on Isla Coiba follows the general rule for resident
birds on this large isolated island in having a tendency toward dark
coloration. This seems too slight, however, in the series of 12 speci-
mens examined, to warrant a name as it is duplicated in part of the
mainland series.
Griscom, in his Ornithology of Panama (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol 78, 1935, p. 353), through an oversight, in addition to his note
under M. v. accola, lists also ‘“Elaenia viridicata pallens (Bangs),”
a name used formerly for the bird of Panama, restricted now to the
slightly different subspecies of northern Colombia.
The race M. v. accola ranges north from western Panama through
Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
MYIOPAGIS GAIMARDII MACILVAINII (Lawrence):
Forest Elaenia, Monona Montaraz
Elainea macilvainii Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 10, 1871,
p. 10. (Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia. )
Small ; slightly crested ; similar to the Greenish Elaenia, but slightly
smaller, and with yellow (not orange) crest, and two definite wing
bars.
Description—Length 112-125 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
grayish brown to olive, with a large, partly concealed central patch
of light yellow, whiter anteriorly, tipped distally with grayish brown;
back and scapulars rather light greenish olive; rump and upper tail
coverts faintly paler ; wings dusky ; middle coverts and greater coverts
tipped with pale yellowish olive to dull white, forming two usually
well-marked wing bars; primaries edged with olive, secondaries more
prominently with olive-yellow ; tail hair brown or olive, edged broadly
with greenish olive, tipped faintly with pale brown (a mark that
disappears with wear): a dusky loral spot; an indefinite grayish
white line from upper lores across upper eyelid to back of eye; a
similar narrow line on lower eyelid; auricular area grayish olive with
paler shaft lines; malar region and upper throat whitish, marked very
faintly with spots and shaft lines of grayish olive; lower foreneck,
breast, and upper sides rather dull pale gray, lined faintly with
edgings of pale yellow; abdomen, under tail coverts, and flanks pale
yellow; axillars and under wing coverts light yellow; edgings on
inner webs of wing feathers somewhat paler.
Juvenile, crown light brownish olive without central yellow patch ;
back and scapulars duller, more brownish olive-green.
A male, taken at La Jagua, Panama, January 14, 1962, had the iris
dark brown; base of mandible dull brownish white; rest of bill
564 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
brownish black; tarsus, toes, and claws black; another male collected
at El Llano, February 4 of the same year had the iris light brown;
bill, tarsus, and toes black. A female, at Chiva Chiva, Canal Zone,
January 12, 1963, had the iris light reddish brown; base of gonys and
lower side of mandibular rami light buffy brown; rest of bill fuscous ;
tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray ; claws black.
Measurements——Males (10 from Coclé, Canal Zone, Province of
Panama, and Darién), wing 56.6-59.9 (58.4), tail 52.4-57.0 (54.7),
culmen from base 11.0-12.5 (11.5, average of 9), tarsus 17.3-18.4
(17.7) mm.
Females (10 from Canal Zone, Province of Panama, Darién, and
northern Colombia), wing 52.0-58.7 (56.0), tail 45.6-53.3 (49.7),
culmen from base 10.4-11.9 (11.8), tarsus 16.3-17.9 (17.1) mm.
Resident. Uncommon ; found in forested areas on the Pacific slope
from the southern Canal Zone (Chiva Chiva) east through eastern
Province of Panama and Darién; on the Caribbean side, from the
upper Rio Indio (El Uracillo) in northern Coclé, east through the
lower Chagres Valley (Achiote, Gamboa, Barro Colorado Island) ;
and at Permé, eastern Comarca de San Blas.
Like the Greenish Elaenia this is a forest bird, but one found in
smaller number. While the ranges of the two species overlap from
the northern Canal Zone eastward, there would appear to be no
competition between them as I have not encountered them together.
The Forest Elaenia, in part, ranges in the high tree crown, and in that
habitat is seldom seen. Those that I have observed near at hand have
been lower down in the tops of undergrowth. They are slender birds
that perch with the body erect and tail pointing down, usually moving
slowly in a leisurely manner. Only rarely have I found them in
company with other small forest birds. While they move about
quietly in search of insects, also they may remain at rest for several
minutes. As the yellow crest usually is hidden under the adjacent
feathers, there is little in their appearance to distinguish them from
other small flycatchers of similar rather dull colors. Their rather
sharp, two-syllable call, that Eisenmann describes as pitwheet, may
attract attention but the bird itself may be difficult to locate.
Near La Jagua I found them in the low trees near the Rio Chico.
At Chiman, and on the Rio Maje, they were in thickets, and in open
growth bordering old clearings. Elsewhere they have been seen occa-
sionally in growths of weeds adjacent to the border of low forest. In
the lower levels of Cerro Pirre I encountered one in open stands of
brush beside a river. In Darién I have found them in Tuira Valley at
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 565
Boca de Paya on the Rio Tuira, and on the Tuquesa where it joins
the Rio Chucunaque. The species is also known at Punta Sabana in
the lower valley, and at Garachiné on the coast. Eisenmann has
recorded it at Santa Fé, and it is known at Cana on Cerro Pirre.
Stomachs of those that I have examined have contained insect
fragments, and a few small seeds.
On February 26, 1950, near the Rio Corotu above Chiman I col-
lected one as it placed bits of vegetable fiber in the foundation of a
nest. I was interested to find that this bird was a male. Belcher and
Smooker (Ibis, 1937, pp. 244-245) describe a nest of the slightly
larger race of Trinidad (Myiopagis g. trinitatis), placed in twigs at
the end of a branch of a mangrove in the Caroni marshes, Trinidad,
as like that of the Yellow-bellied Elaenia, but smaller, and without the
feather lining found in that species. The two eggs, with a pale
creamy-white ground color, had markings “of spots and blotches of
deep red-brown with underlying ones of lavender, forming a ring
toward the larger end.” They measured 17.9X14.1 and 17.2x
13.9 mm.
This race was described as from “Venezuela” collected by Chris-
topher Wood, without a more definite locality. The type specimen, in
the American Museum of Natural History, is marked Cartagena,
Colombia, which is accepted as the type locality. Lawrence named it
“in compliment to my friend, J. H. Mcllvain, Esq., of Philadelphia,
an ethnologist as well as ornithologist, to whose liberality Mr. Wood
is indebted for the opportunity to make the collection.”
MYIOPAGIS CANICEPS ABSITA (Wetmore): Gray
Elaenia, Monona Gris
Elaenia caniceps absita Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 145, no. 6,
December 16, 1963, p. 7. (Old Tacarcuna village site, head of the Rio Pucro,
950 meters elevation, base of Cerro Mali, Darién.)
Small; concealed white patch in crown; male, gray above and on
breast; female greenish, with yellow abdomen.
Description —Length 110-120 mm. Adult male, crown and hind-
neck deep neutral gray; with a partly concealed white central area in
which the basal two-thirds of the individual feathers are white; a
narrow line of grayish white on forehead and lores, extending back
through the margins of upper and lower eyelids; back, rump, and
upper tail coverts neutral gray; wings black, with the middle and
greater coverts tipped, and the inner primaries, secondaries, and
tertials, edged with white; tail mouse gray, edged narrowly with
566 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
neutral gray, mainly toward base, tipped lightly with dull white;
throat and central upper foreneck pale grayish white ; lower foreneck,
upper breast, and adjacent sides pallid neutral gray; flanks, abdomen,
and under tail coverts pure white; tibia brownish gray; inner under
wing coverts and edge of inner webs of primaries white; outer under
wing coverts mixed white and neutral gray.
Female, crown slightly blacker than in male; the central area basally
white ;: back, scapulars, inner lesser wing coverts, rump and upper tail
coverts grayish green; wings black, with pale yellow edgings on
coverts, inner secondaries and tertials ; tail blacker than in male, edged
indistinctly with dull grayish green; markings of side of head and
loral area as in male; throat and upper foreneck grayish white, duller
than in male; lower foreneck, breast, and adjacent sides faintly gray-
ish green; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, and under tail coverts pale
yellow (with a very faint greenish cast) ; inner under wing coverts
and inner edgings of primaries very pale yellow.
Measurements.—Males (2 from Darién), wing 57.3, 58.0, tail 46.4,
49.4, culmen from base 10.5, 10.7, tarsus 14.5, 15.5 mm.
Female (1 from Darién), wing 52.5, tail 42.8, culmen from base
10.2, tarsus 15.6 mm.
Resident. Rare, in heavy forest. Known from a pair taken at the
old Tacarcuna village site at 950 meters elevation on the base of Cerro
Mali, anda male from 550 meters at Cana, on Cerro Pirre, Darién.
The maie and accompanying female from which this bird was
described were collected for Dr. Pedro Galindo, of the Gorgas
Memorial Laboratory on July 4, 1963. The locality was the forest
surrounding the field camp, at the old Cuna Indian village on the
upper Rio Pucro. An earlier specimen, also an adult male, collected
March 20, 1912, by E. A. Goldman near Cana, on the lower slopes
of Cerro Pirre, was wrongly identified originally as Serpophaga
cinerea grisea, and through this was overlooked in earlier studies.
The bird is listed here in the genus Myiopagis, following treatment
by Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., No. 1108, May 14, 1941, p. 20). The
much brighter colors of the female, with yellow abdomen and greenish
back, are in definite contrast to the grayer color pattern of the male.
Both are marked by the prominent white in the crest.
While the species ranges widely from Colombia and southern
Venezuela to Bolivia, northern Argentina, and southern Brazil, little
is known of it other than the few records of specimens collected. In
these, four geographic races have been described. The bird of Darién,
generally similar to M. c. parambae (Hellmayr) found from the
Baudd Mountains in Choco, western Colombia, south to western
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 567
Ecuador, differs in the male in being lighter gray, with the white
markings on the wing more extensive. The female has the breast,
sides, and abdomen paler yellow. Size in the two races is similar, as
indicated by measurements of two males and a female parambae in
the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia from the Rio
Jurubida, Chocé, Colombia, and the type male, in the American
Museum of Natural History from Paramba, Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
Males, wing 54.8-55.4 (55.1), tail 45.0-46.4 (45.8), culmen from
base 9.5-10.0 (9.7), tarsus 14.5-15.6 (15.0) mm.
Female, wing 54.2, tail 44.9, culmen from base 10.0, tarsus 15.8 mm.
CAMPTOSTOMA OBSOLETUM (Temminck): Southern
Beardless Flycatcher, Monona Lampina
Muscicapa obsoleta Temminck, Nouv. Rec. Planch. Col. Ois., livr. 46, May
1824, pl. 275, fig. 1. (Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.)
Very small; grayish green above; pale yellow below, with two.
white wing bars; bill small; often active like a small wood warbler.
Description—Length 85 to 95 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above
rather dull grayish green, with a faintly darker crown; a narrow white
eye-ring, and an indistinct white line from lores back above eyes;
cheeks lined indistinctly with white; wings dusky, with the middle
and greater coverts tipped with white to pale yellowish white, to form
two distinct wing bars; in some, light tips on the lesser coverts form
a third bar; tertials tipped with yellowish white; secondaries and
primaries edged narrowly with yellowish white ; tail fuscous to dusky,
tipped with dull buffy white; throat and upper foreneck rather dull
white; rest of under surface light yellow to very pale yellow, duller
and grayer on upper breast and sides; axillars, under wing coverts,
and edge of wing light yellow.
Juvenile, slightly duller, browner, above, with rump and upper tail
coverts buffy brown; wing bands dull cinnamon-buff ; under surface
very pale buffy white, with a narrow indistinct band of buff across
the breast. In their mainland range in Panama they are fairly uniform
in coloration. In addition, two slightly marked island races have
been described.
The species as a whole is found from Costa Rica and Panama
through tropical South America to northern Argentina and southern
Brazil.
While these flycatchers are common locally, they may be overlooked
because of their tiny size, as any leaf is sufficient cover to conceal
them.
568 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
CAMPTOSTOMA OBSOLETUM FLAVIVENTRE
Sclater and Salvin
Camptostoma flaviventre Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864
(February 1865), p. 358. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Characters.—Paler above, with crown cap browner ; more distinctly
yellow on the lower surface.
A male in breeding condition, taken at Aguadulce, Coclé, January
17, 1963, had the iris brown; maxilla dull black; lower side of base
of mandible dull brown; rest of mandible fuscous; tarsus dusky
neutral gray; toes, including the claws, black. Others that I have
examined have had the maxilla and tip of the mandible dull fuscous ;
base of the mandible brownish white. The gape and inside of the
mouth are reddish orange.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Herrera, Los Santos, Canal Zone,
and Province of Panama), wing 50.3-54.6 (51.9), tail 34.6-41.4
(39.0), culmen from base 9.1-10.8 (9.8), tarsus 13.3-15.2 (14.0) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Los Santos, Herrera, Canal Zone, and
Province of Panama), wing 45.3-50.1 (48.1), tail 33.3-35.2 (34.7),
culmen from base 9.1-9.9 (9.4), tarsus 13.0-15.7 (14.1) mm.
Resident. Locally common in the Tropical Zone; Pacific slope from
Costa Rica eastward, including Herrera and Los Santos on the
eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula, eastern Province of Panama
(Chepo), and Darién; Carribbean slope in the lower Chagres Valley
(Pina, Lion Hill, Gatun, Barro Colorado Island, Juan Mina) and
adjacent eastern Colon; eastern San Blas (Permé, Puerto Obaldia) ;
Isla Cébaco in Golfo de Montijo.
These tiny flycatchers are common in the tropical lowlands of the
Pacific slope east to the lower Rio Bayano, and range north also
across the lowland divide where the Panama Canal crosses to the
north coast near Colon. The most western record on the Caribbean
side is a male taken by S. Olson at Pifia. There are records for
Darién from Garachiné, Santa Fé (on the Rio Sabana), and El Real,
with one at Cana on Cerro Pirre. It is probable that they are found
in small numbers through the Tuira basin. And it is also probable
that they range through the lowlands of San Blas, though the only
records are from near the Colombian boundary at Permé and Puerto
Obaldia.
Along the Pacific slope they are found through the thickets and low
tree growth of the savanna area, sometimes low, near the ground,
sometimes higher in the trees. While at times they move rather
quickly so that they seem as active as wood warblers, it is more
usual for them to show the quieter movements common to many
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 569
small tropical flycatchers that search for food through branches and
leaves, in contrast to those that wait quietly for passing insects.
Although they take some insects, they also feed extensively on small
berries. In the more humid areas of the Caribbean part of the range
they may be found in heavy forest, often in the high tree crown.
Birds taken in March frequently were in breeding condition. Once
on March 24, 1958, at La Jagua, east of Pacora, a male fed a berry
to a smaller companion that I assumed to be his mate. On March 8,
1960, I collected a mated pair near Alanje in western Chiriqui.
Haverschmidt (Condor, 1956, pp. 139-141) described the nest of the
closely related Camptostoma o. napaeum in Surinam as a rounded
ball with an entrance in one side, placed among vines or otherwise
concealed. The set of eggs usually numbers two, in color “creamy
white with a number of lilac and reddish brown spots especially at
the larger end.’’ Measurements of four eggs ranged as follows:
16.2-16.7 x 12.3-12.8 mm. One fresh egg weighed 1.35 grams. A
female that I shot March 13, 1960, at the Canta Gallo bridge below
Alanje held a fully developed egg, unfortunately broken, so that I
was able to determine only that it was white with a few dots of
cinnamon-brown. On March 9, 1949, an adult fed a fully grown
young bird in a bush back of the laboratory on Barro Colorado Island.
We have immature birds, marked by cinnamon-buff wing bars, taken
as follows: Alanje, March 3; Parita, Herrera, March 22; Chico,
Panama, March 24: Lion Hill, Canal Zone, April 4; and Gatun,
Canal Zone, April 6.
While Sclater and Salvin do not give a definite locality, their type
specimen was part of a collection taken by James McLeannan near
the Lion Hill Station on the Panama Railroad, which has been desig-
nated as the type locality.
CAMPTOSTOMA OBSOLETUM ORPHNUM Wetmore
Camptostoma obsoletum orphnum Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 134,
no. 9, July 8, 1957, p. 70. (Isla Coiba, Panama.)
Characters.—Similar to C. 0. flaviventre, but with upper surface
darker, more olive, especially on the crown.
Measurements.—Males (2 from Isla Coiba), wing 52.0 52.1, tail
39.2, 39.3, culmen from base 9.9, 10.1, tarsus 13.2, 13.9 mm.
Females (2 from Isla Coiba), wing 47.1, 47.2, tail 35.0, 35.2, culmen
from base 9.7, 10.4, tarsus 13.6, 14.0 mm.
Range.—Isla Coiba; Isla Afuerita (adjacent to Isla Canal de
Afuera, between Coiba and the mainland).
These little flycatchers are so small, and so quiet in mannerisms
570 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
that they undoubtedly are more common on Isla Coiba than is indi-
cated by the four specimens taken during my five weeks on the island.
They move quietly, usually among leaves, and when they fly dis-
appear at once behind cover. While I found them in low growth
near the beaches and along the borders of clearings, they ranged also
through the high tree crown of the forest.
On Isla Afuerita, separated by a narrow channel from Isla Canal
de Afuera, which lies between Isla Coiba and the Veraguas mainland,
I collected a male on March 22, 1962, that is assigned to this sub-
species. It is slightly grayer on the dorsal surface, and somewhat
less yellow below than the type series from Coiba, but agrees with
them in being distinctly darker above than C. o. flaviventre of the
mainland. The difference equals that seen in the range of variation
in our extensive series of flaviventre. The bird was found in low
bushes at the border of an old cornfield. Its measurements are as
follows: wing 52.5, tail 44.0, culmen from base 9.0, tarsus 14.0 mm.
CAMPTOSTOMA OBSOLETUM MAJOR Griscom
Camptostoma pusillum major Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 72, no. 9,
January 1932, p. 353. (San Miguel, Isla del Rey, Archipiélago de las Perlas,
Panama. )
Characters —Similar to C. 0. flaviventre, but slightly grayer, less
olive above, with the crown somewhat lighter, so that it is more like
the back.
Measurements.—Males (8 specimens), wing 52.6-55.2 (54.2),
tail 37.3-45.8 (40.7), culmen from base 9.0-10.5 (9.5), tarsus 13.0-
14.6 (13.7) mm.
Females (5 specimens), wing 48.3-50.6 (49.1), tail 33.0-37.2
(35.2), culmen from base 8.6-9.5 (9.3), tarsus 13.3-14.3 (13.8) mm.
Resident in the Archipiélago de las Perlas; recorded on Islas Rey,
Saboga, Pacheca, Pedro Gonzalez, and San José.
This slightly differentiated race is little known except for the
specimens that have been taken, which come mainly from Isla del Rey.
I saw single individuals on three occasions on Isla San José in 1944
and 1946, but did not succeed in collecting one. A specimen in the
American Museum of Natural History from Isla Pedro Gonzalez
was taken by Griscom and Crosby on February 18, 1927.
SUBLEGATUS ARENARUM ARENARUM (Salvin): Scrub
Flycatcher, Monona Grisacea
Elainea arenarum Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, August 1863, p. 190.
(Puntarenas, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica.)
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 571
Medium size; gray, darker above, paler on breast; abdomen light
yellow ; three light wing bars ; bill black.
Description —Length 135-150 mm. Bill relatively broader com-
pared to other species in the elaenia group of flycatchers. Adult
(sexes alike), upper surface, including scapulars, grayish brown,
varying from faintly olive-brown when newly grown to definitely
gray through fading as the feathers age; crown with darker shaft
lines; rump often with a faintly paler wash, verging toward cinna-
mon; wings dusky; lesser, middle, and greater coverts tipped with
white to light grayish brown, forming three wing bars; inner pri-
maries and secondaries edged with white to light grayish brown; tail
dusky, with edging of outer rectrices and tips pale grayish white to
brownish white ; forehead, a faint supraloral line, and eyelids grayish
white; a dusky loral spot in front of eye; side of head back of eye
like hindneck, with faint shaft lines of grayish white; chin and upper
throat pale gray to grayish white, changing to pale gray on foreneck,
breast, and adjacent sides; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, and under
tail coverts light yellow; axillars and under wing coverts very pale
yellow ; inner margins of wing feathers dull white.
Juvenile, above dark, somewhat grayish brown, with the feathers
tipped narrowly with dull white; foreneck and upper breast light gray,
with indistinct narrow grayish brown tips; wings and tail as in adult.
A female, taken on Isla Afuerita, off Bahia Honda, Veraguas,
March 22, 1962, had the iris wood brown; mandibular rami brownish
black ; rest of bill fuscous-black ; tarsus, toes, and claws black ; edges
of gape dull honey yellow; inside of mouth honey yellow. Another
female, at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 19, 1966, had the
iris mouse brown; bill fuscous, darker at tip, paler at base of mandible ;
tarsus and toes fuscous-black ; claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera, Los
Santos, Coclé, and Canal Zone), wing 69.3-75.2 (71.8), tail 64.7—70.2
(66.4), culmen from base 11.4-13.0 (12.2), tarsus 18.0-19.4
(18.8) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos,
eastern Province of Panama, and Isla Taboguilla), wing 67.0-71.1
(68.9), tail 63.3-66.7 (65.6), culmen from base 11.4-13.3 (12.2),
tarsus 18.0-18.6 (18.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally in the lowlands of the Tropical Zone on
the Pacific slope from western Chiriqui east through Veraguas (in-
land to Sona), the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula, Coclé,
Province of Panama, and the southern Canal Zone, east to the lower
Rio Bayano (Chepo) ; recorded eastward along the coast at Majé,
572 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
eastern Province of Panama, and at Garachiné, Darién. Common
through the Archipiélago de las Perlas (recorded on Islas Contadora,
Saboga, Bayoneta, Malaga, Vivienda, Rey, Cafias, Santelmo, Moreno,
Pedro Gonzalez, and San José). On other islands as follows : Taboga,
Taboguilla, in Bahia de Panama; Iguana, north of Punta Mala,
Los Santos; Gobernadora, Cébaco, Golfo de Montijo; Coiba;
Afuerita, off Bahia Honda, Veraguas; Parida, Bolafios, Golfo de
Chiriqui.
These small flycatchers usually are found in low growths of bushes
and small trees, ranging through open areas, and commonly also, in
denser stands. They range regularly in mangrove swamps in the
drier areas along the inner border, seldom in the heavier stands
over deeper water. They are seen at times also in forested sections.
Pairs are encountered regularly though more often individuals are
alone, moving so quietly through the twigs and leaves that they may
not be seen. Much of their food is insects, captured in such search.
Less often they rest on open perches, when with their twitching tails
they may be confused with other small flycatchers of similar color
pattern. They also come quietly to feeding trees to eat the drupes.
While in general appearance, and if not seen clearly, they may be
confused with the Lesser Elaenia, they differ from that species in rela-
tively heavier, blacker bill, in addition to smaller size. Their call is a
somewhat sibilant swees, heard only occasionally with the birds near
at hand. They also have a low trilling song of little carrying power.
The breeding season appears to come from March to June.
March 26, 1948, near La Palma, Los Santos, I saw one working at
construction of a simple open cup nest located about 6 meters from the
ground in the fork of a branch in a small, open-limbed tree. A nest
found by Major-General G. Ralph Meyer March 31, 1944, near
Chepo, was made of plant fibers placed in a tree beside the highway.
The two eggs, with incubation not begun, are faintly creamy white,
spotted finely with chestnut-brown, a few varying to lilac, all mainly
in a slightly indicated wreath near the larger end. They measure
18.7 x 13.7 and 18.9 14.0 mm. Another set that he collected April 11,
1941, near Summit, Canal Zone, from a nest made of grasses in a
solitary tree standing beside an unimproved road had only a trace of
incubation. The nest was about 75 mm in diameter, by 40 mm deep.
The two eggs, with the spotting somewhat more scattered, measure
19.4x 14.4 and 19.4x14.6 mm. In both of these sets the eggs are
near subelliptical in shape. A third nest, collected April 19, 1944,
near Chepo, like the first was in a fork of a horizontal branch in a
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 573
tree standing at the edge of forest. The two eggs in this set, in which
incubation had begun, had chestnut spots of slightly larger size
scattered over the larger end, as in the others. The eggs measure
17.4X 13.5 and 17.2 x 13.8 mm, and are somewhat pointed subelliptical
in form.
The series of specimens of this form at hand from the mainland
area, Coiba, and the inshore islands, are fairly uniform, with the
usual variation in darkness of the dorsal surface due to the slight,
slow fading from intensity of light as the season progresses. Salvin’s
type (sex not indicated), examined in the British Museum, is a
well-formed specimen in good condition. Its measurements of wing
69.7, tail 65.4, and culmen from base 11.6 mm, agree closely with
the average for the female.
Those from the Archipiélago de las Perlas have been interesting
since they are somewhat intermediate toward Sublegatus a. atrirostris
(Lawrence) of northern Colombia. The 11 males and 9 females
from the islands, as listed in the range given above, average faintly
darker dorsally, with a slight brownish cast, thus indicating rela-
tionship to that form. The gray of the anterior lower surface how-
ever is like that of typical arenarum. Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no.
1109, 1941, p. 7) listed three specimens from Islas San José and
Pedro Gonzalez as atrirostris, and with them included two from Isla
Coiba. In an account of the birds of Coiba (Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
vol. 134, no. 9, 1957, p. 69), I indicated agreement with him, with
regard to the Perlas Islands series (but not from Coiba). Since then
our larger series indicates an intermediate condition, but with the
birds nearer arenarum.
PHYLLOMYIAS GRISEICEPS CRISTATUS Berlepsch: Crested
Tyrannulet, Moscareta Crestada
Phyllomyias cristatus Berlepsch, Journ. f. Orn., vol. 32, April 1884, p. 250.
(Bucaramanga, Magdalena, Colombia. )
_Phyllomyias griseiceps quantulus Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 122,
no. 8, December 17, 1953, p. 8. (Cana, Darién, Panama.)
Very small; a short, somewhat bushy crest; greenish olive above,
with darker crown; yellowish on abdomen.
Description.—Adult (sexes alike), crown fuscous-black, shading
on hindneck to dull greenish olive on back and scapulars; rump and
upper tail coverts somewhat paler; wing coverts basally dusky; the
lesser coverts edged with greenish olive; middle and greater coverts
tipped irregularly and indistinctly with dull grayish brown; secon-
574 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
daries and inner primaries edged narrowly with white; tail grayish
brown, tipped narrowly and indistinctly with dull white; an indis-
tinct blackish spot in front of eye; lores dull white, this marking
extending back over eye as a superciliary streak ; lower eyelid with a
white line; side of head back of eye dusky, mixed basally with grayish
white; chin and upper throat rather dull white, shading on foreneck
and upper breast to dull greenish gray ; upper breast lined indefinitely
with dull yellow ; lower breast, abdomen, and under tail coverts pale
yellow; edge of wing dusky; axillars and under wing coverts pale
yellow.
Juvenile, base colors of dorsal surface as in adult but with crown
and back feathers tipped narrowly with white. Middle and greater
coverts tipped prominently with white, forming two definite wing
bars ; tail tipped with white.
Measurements——Males (1 from Darién, 8 from northern Co-
lumbia), wing 49.3-53.6 (51.7), tail 43.1-47.4 (45.2, average of 8),
culmen from base 8.7-9.7 (9.2), tarsus 13.3-14.5 (13.9) mm.
Females (3 from Colombia), wing 47.0-50.5 (48.7), tail 41.9-45.8
(43.2), culmen from base 8.29.0 (8.6), tarsus 13.4-13.7 (13.5) mm.
Recorded in Darién from one male, taken at Cana on Cerro Pirre.
The specimen was collected by E. A. Goldman June 1, 1912, at
550 meters elevation. His notes make no reference to it except for
its entry in his specimen catalog. When the collection was first studied
by E. W. Nelson, he identified it correctly as to species, but then the
bird, through some oversight was laid aside, apart from the rest of
the collection. When finally it came to attention it was noticed that it
differed slightly in paler, duller pattern of color from other specimens
available. Because of this I named it as a distinct race, as indicated
above. As other specimens became available from Chocd and other
areas in northern Colombia, it was found that these were individual
differences, and the bird of Cerro Pirre proved to be an example
of the subspecies cristatus of northern Colombia. As a whole, the
species griseiceps has a wide distribution in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
northern Brazil, eastern Venezuela, and Guyana. As _ yet little
seems to be known of it, aside from the few specimens in museum
collections.
The presence of prominent wing bars in the juvenile stage (absent
or slightly marked in the adult) is interesting, as this and the white
tipping on the upper surface are suggestive of what is seen in the
juvenile stage in Sublegatus.
The name cristatus was presented at a meeting of the German
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 575
Ornithological Society held in Berlin, March 7, 1884, by Cabanis
on behalf of Count Berlepsch (who was unable to be present).
The description was repeated by Berlepsch in an account of the
rest of the specimens with which it had been received, published in
the next number of the Journal ftir Ornithologie for July-October
1884, p. 300. The collection of about 800 specimens, presented to the
city museum of Liibeck by Emilio Minlos, had been purchased over a
period of time locally from the Indians in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
The specimens differed from the “Bogota” trade skins in that the
bones were concealed in an artificial body of wadding or moss, not
found in the others.
TYRANNISCUS VILISSIMUS PARVUS Lawrence: Paltry
Tyrannulet, Moscareta Menuda
Tyranniscus parvus Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 4, January 1862, p. 12. (Lion Hill,
Isthmus of Panama. )
Small: above greenish olive; breast and foreneck grayish white;
wings edged prominently with light greenish yellow.
Description —Adult (sexes alike), crown dull dusky green; hind-
neck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail coverts greenish olive ;
wings dusky; middle and greater coverts, primaries (except outer-
most), and secondaries edged distinctly with bright greenish yellow ;
bend of wing yellow; tail dusky, edged with dull olive-green; fore-
head and narrow indistinct superciliary, gray; lores dusky; side of
head light olive, with indistinct whitish shaft lines; chin and upper
foreneck whitish; lower foreneck and breast pale gray, lined indefi-
nitely with dull white; center of abdomen white; flanks, lower ab-
domen, and under tail coverts pale olive-yellow, with a greenish wash;
axillars and under wing coverts very pale yellow; inner margins of
under wing feathers dull white.
A male taken at Chepo, Province of Panama, April 24, 1949, had
the iris grayish white. Another, collected near El Volcan, Chiriqui,
February 28, 1954, had the iris light brownish white; bill dusky
neutral gray, fuscous at the base of the gonys; tarsus and toes dusky
neutral gray. A third, at Almirante, Bocas del Toro, February 5,
1958, had the inside of the mouth, including the upper surface of the
tongue, slightly more orange than honey yellow. A female, at Charco
del Toro, Rio Majé, Province of Panama, March 24, 1950, had the
iris Marguerite yellow; maxilla dusky neutral gray ; mandible neutral
gray ; tarsus, toes, and claws dusky neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Canal
576 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Zone, Colon, and Darién), wing 47.7-55.2 (51.4), tail 39.0-46.7
(42.2), culmen from base 9.0-9.9 (9.4), tarsus 15.6-16.7 (16.1) mm.
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, Coclé, and Province
of Panama), wing 42.5-50.8 (45.2), tail 31.7-37.0 (34.2), culmen
from base 8.6-9.7 (9.0), tarsus 13.9-15.0 (14.5) mm.
Resident. Common in forested and brushy areas throughout the
Tropical Zone. On the Pacific slope in Chiriqui, from near the Costa
Rican boundary (Sereno and Divala to Chame and San Félix), to
the Subtropical Zone on the volcano (1525 meters below Cerro Punta,
and 2000 meters above Boquete) ; along the hill slopes in Veraguas
to Santa Fé, Chitra, Paracoté at the head of Golfo de Montijo, and
Cerro Montuoso in the northern Azuero Peninsula, on the boundary
with Herrera; El Valle, Coclé, and Cerro Campana, east through
the Canal Zone and the Province of Panama to Chepo, the Rio Majé,
and Darién (Cerro Sapo, Cana, and the base of Cerro Tacarcuna).
(Not recorded on the open plains of Coclé, or on the eastern side of
the Azuero Peninsula.) On the Caribbean side from western Bocas
del Toro (Changuinola, Almirante), east through northern Coclé
(El Uracillo) and the northern Canal Zone to eastern Colon (Porto-
belo).
There is no report at present from the Comarca de San Blas,
though it is found near Acandi, Chocd, at the western side of the
entrance of the Golfo de Uraba, in northwestern Colombia, 25
kilometers beyond the Panamanian boundary.
These are quiet, unobtrusive little birds that live in the cover of
tree growth and shrubbery, often ranging singly, or equally often
found associated with other species of smaller birds that range in
company. One may be noted making short flights through the higher
branches, then resting quietly under shelter of the leaves to look
about. They may perch quietly, or may move quickly, often with
vibrating tails. While often under cover, in flight they may also pause
on some tall dead stub standing in the open. Any cover from heavy
forest to open, scattered second growth or isolated trees is suited to
their needs. When found in pairs, the females appear so small, with
their bulk seemingly only half that of the males, that the pair often
suggests an association of two distinct species.
Breeding in Panama is indicated from March onward. A female,
taken March 1, 1952, at El Uracillo, on the Caribbean slope of Coclé,
held a nearly formed egg. J. R. Karr near Gamboa found one feed-
ing a nestling on July 14, 1969.
Call notes are soft and low so that they seldom attract attention.
The food is partly small insects taken during quick movements among
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 577
leaves, and more evidently the berries of epiphytes and the smaller
fruits that attract birds to feeding trees. These berries often form the
major bulk in the contents of the stomach.
Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960, pp. 465-474) in his de-
tailed account of their life history, as seen in Costa Rica, described
the call notes as “‘varied but low” with a “slight, weak dawn song . . .
which is delivered persistently in the morning twilight.” The nest is
made of mosses and other soft materials placed among epiphytes, in
the shelter of a curled leaf, amid vines and small branches, or even
in an old abandoned hanging nest of another flycatcher. It is built
by the female, who also incubates alone. The eggs, two in a set, are
“dull white, speckled or blotched with shades of cinnamon ranging
from pale to rufous-cinnamon.” His measurements of a small series
of eggs had a range of 16.7-18.7X12.7-13.5 mm. The nestling at
hatching had “on its crown, back, and sides long gray down which
is rather dense for a passerine bird. . . . Its bill, the interior of its
mouth, its legs, and its toes are intensely yellow.”
Under present understanding, the subspecies parvus ranges north
in Central America through Costa Rica and Nicaragua to Honduras.
To the south it is recognized in northern Choco in northwestern
Colombia. From present data it is rare in eastern Darién and not
known from San Blas. The few seen from eastern Panama appear
to be slightly smaller and faintly darker green above than those from
the Canal Zone westward.
The type material in the American Museum of Natural History
includes the two specimens, male and female, covered in the original
description in the /bis, where the title of the paper reads, “Descrip-
tions of Six New Species of Birds from the Isthmus of Panama.”
The label of the male (A.M.N.H. 42574) reads in part, “Coll. G.N.L.
Type.” On the reverse is the name “Tyranniscus parvus Lawr. Z,
Panama, McL. & G.”
The label of the other (A.M.N.H. 42575) is marked “Coll. of
G.N.L. Type Tyranniscus sp. nov. parvus.”’ On the reverse, in addi-
tion to the name, is the notation “?, Panama McL. & G.”’ As Lawrence
(Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1862, p. 316) states relative to
the collections made by McLeannan with the aid of John R. Galbraith
that all “are from the Atlantic slope” with the exception of six listed
by number which came from the other side, this establishes the general
area. From this the citation of the type locality as “Lion Hill” by
Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, p. 409) may be
accepted as valid.
578 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
TYRANNULUS ELATUS PANAMENSIS Thayer and Bangs:
Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Moscareta Coronilla Dorada
Tyrannulus reguloides panamensis Thayer and Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
vol. 46, January 1906, p. 218. (Savanna of Panama, near Caledonia, Panama
City, Panama. )
Small; under surface yellowish; above olive-green; crown dull
black, with partly concealed yellow central stripe.
Description—Adult male, crown dull black, becoming slate on
forehead ; a broad yellow stripe in center (in some, slightly orange) ;
back, scapulars, and rump olive-green (grayish olive-green in some) ;
upper tail coverts faintly brighter; wings dusky ; middle and greater
coverts edged with white, forming two narrow bars; secondaries
edged narrowly with white; inner primaries edged with dull olive-
green; tail dull grayish brown, in some tipped narrowly with olive
to olive-yellow ; anterior lores grayish white, changing to dusky in
front of eye, and then continued over the eye as a superciliary line
to above the auricular region, changing posteriorly to grayish white;
side of head grayish, with indistinct shaft lines of white; chin and
upper throat grayish white, changing on foreneck to gray, tinged
with yellow; breast and sides olive-yellow becoming light yellow on
lower breast, abdomen, flanks, and under tail coverts; axillars and
under wing coverts pale yellow, the latter area dusky toward the
carpal edge.
Adult female, similar, but with crown stripe narrower.
Juvenile, crown dull black, without the crown stripe, this appear-
ing early as a narrow line of white and orange-yellow; rest of upper
surface dull dusky-brown edged with grayish white; wing coverts
dull buff, blackish to dusky centrally, tipped with dull buffy brown;
breast and foreneck in early stages similar to back, but changing early
to adult colors; abdomen, flanks and under tail coverts pale, dull
yellow.
A male taken at Mandinga, San Blas, January 22, 1957, had the iris
dull Marguerite yellow; bill black; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray.
In another, at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 8, 1966, the
iris was dull yellow; bill black; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray ;
claws black. A female, at El Real, Darién, February 18, 1964, had
the iris light brown; bill black; tarsus and toes dark bluish neutral
gray ; claws black.
Measurements—Males (10 from Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos,
Province of Panama, and Canal Zone), wing 50.5-53.7 (52.4), tail
38.7-45.1 (42.2), culmen from base 7.6-8.7 (8.2), tarsus 12.3-13.8
(12.7) mm.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 579
Females (10 from Chiriqui, Canal Zone, Darién, and northwestern
Colombia), wing 46.0-49.5 (47.4), tail 34.5-38.8 (37.5), culmen
from base 7.0-8.9 (7.9), tarsus 11.3-13.3 (12.3) mm.
Resident. Locally common in the tropical lowlands, where suitable
tree cover is found. On the Pacific slope from western Chiriqui
(Puerto Armuelles, Divala) east through the lowlands (David, San
Félix, Las Lajas) to Veraguas (Puerto Vidal, Sona), Los Santos
(Tonosi), Coclé (El Valle), the Province of Panama, and the Canal
Zone to Darién (El Real). On the Caribbean slope from northern
Coclé (El Uracillo) and western Colon (Rio Indio) through the
Canal Zone to eastern Colon and western San Blas (Mandinga).
These tiny birds are found singly or in pairs, often in the border
trees along the side of cultivated lands, even where this shelter may
be comparatively low and open. Scrub growth scattered through
pastures may be attractive to them; they may come into trees beside
open roadways, into the shade of a suburban garden, or along the
edge of larger stands of forest. Their haunt may vary from rather
open growth to heavier, denser, more humid stands. They often rest
motionless and then, because of their tiny size, may not be seen
through the cover of leaves around them even though this may be
fairly open. I have heard their calls on a few occasions in scattered
shade trees in urban areas, as around army quarters, or once even
from spreading branches over a parking lot adjacent to a Panama
City restaurant.
Their main coloration is plain and inconspicuous, and only occa-
sionally may one display the brightly colored crest. Rarely I have
seen the male of a pair dart in twisting flight through the trees,
swinging in a circle without pause, with much show of color, ap-
parently a mating display. It was not until I had identified the quiet,
whistled call, pray teer, that I realized that in many localities they
were fairly common.
While they capture small insects regularly, small berries, including
those of mistletoes, are a standard food supply. I have collected birds
in breeding condition in early January. On Barro Colorado Island,
Dr. Eisenmann found adults feeding young out of the nest on July 3
and 30, 1950. And on August 22, 1954, found an occupied nest in
the edge of the laboratory clearing in a Cecropia tree, about 10 meters
above the ground. He described it as a shallow cup, placed where six
leaf stems sprouted from a twig, and made of fine twigs and hairlike
filaments, some hanging below the narrow branch on which the nest
was saddled.
In Panama, there is no certain record at present for this bird in
580 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
the Province of Bocas del Toro. Nor has this species been reported
in Costa Rica, though it seems probable that it will be found there in
the lowlands of the Pacific slope, as I saw it west of Puerto Armuelles
only a short distance from the international boundary.
Two eggs are reported to constitute a set. Hellebrekers (Zool.
Med. Ryksm. Nat. Hist. Leiden, vol. 24, 1942, p. 259) records those
of the nominate race, taken in Surinam, as broadly oval, glossless,
cream colored, and unmarked “with measurements of 16.4 12.1
and 15.1 x 11.9 mm.”
The species ranges widely from Panama through northern South
America to the Guianas and northern Brazil. While Zimmer (Amer.
Mus. Noy., no. 1126, 1941, pp. 2-3) in examination of a large series
was unable to distinguish subspecies, from other studies it appears
that two races may be recognized.
Tyrannulus elatus elatus (Latham).
Sylvia elata Latham, Ind. Orn., vol. 2, 1790, p. 549. (Cayenne. )
Back darker, more olive; breast and sides averaging darker ; abdo-
men somewhat duller yellow.
From southeastern Colombia and southern and eastern Venezuela
to the Guianas and Brazil.
Tyrannulus elatus panamensis Thayer and Bangs.
See reference above.
Back lighter, more greenish olive ; breast and sides averaging paler ;
abdomen somewhat brighter yellow.
Panama, through Colombia, except the southeast, to western
Ecuador.
ACROCHORDOPUS ZELEDONI ZELEDONI (Lawrence): White-
fronted Tyrannulet, Moscareta Frentiblanca
Pogonotriccus ? seledoni Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 9,
March 1869, p. 144. (Dota, Costa Rica.)
Small; crown gray; back dull olive-green; front line of. forehead
prominently white ; lower half of bill light colored.
Description—Length 107-115 mm; lower end of tarsus distinctly
roughened. Adult (sexes alike), crown and hindneck slate color ; back,
scapulars, rump, and upper tail coverts light olive-green; wings dull
black; middle and greater coverts tipped and edged with dull olive-
yellow ; secondaries and inner primaries edged with pale yellowish
white; tail hair brown, tipped lightly, and the outer feathers edged
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 581
more prominently, with pale dull olive-green ; a dusky spot in front of
eye; forehead behind nostrils white, this continued on upper margin
of lores and over eye as a narrow superciliary line; side of head dull
white, mixed more or less with dusky; chin and throat dull white,
lined faintly with dull gray; lower foreneck, upper breast, and sides
dull olive, with indistinct edgings of yellow to yellowish white;
abdomen, flanks, and under tail coverts yellow; under wing coverts
dusky on carpal area; edge of wing and under wing coverts pale
yellow; inner webs of wing feathers margined with pale yellowish
white.
A male, taken at Santa Clara, Chiriqui, February 19, 1955, had the
iris light reddish brown; maxilla fuscous ; mandible flesh color ; tarsus
and toes fuscous ; inside of mouth dull orange.
Measurements—Males (6 from Costa Rica and Chiriqui), wing
60.1-63.0 (61.4), tail 43.647.1 (45.2), culmen from base 9.4—10.5
(9.8, average of 4), tarsus 14.1-15.4 (14.8) mm. |
Females (3 from Chiriqui), wing 59.5-61.0 (60.4), tail 44.5-45.5
(45.1), culmen from base 9.0-9.2 (9.1), tarsus 14.2-14.7 (14.5) mm.
Resident. Rare: known from a few records in forested areas in
the upper Tropical and lower Subtropical zones in Chiriqui.
The White-fronted Tyrannulet was recorded first in Panama by
Bangs (Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 35) from
three females collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., near Boquete, on
January 20 and 23, and March 10, 1901. Monniche secured a male,
August 1, 1932, at about 1600 meters elevation at Lérida, above
Boquete. In Costa Rica, Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128,
1964, p. 272) recorded six localities in which it has been found, mainly
on the Caribbean slope, and in the Dota mountains.
On the three occasions when I saw this bird in life, I found single
individuals moving quietly through the upper branches of under-
growth at the borders of forest. In movement, appearance, slightly
tilting flight, and method of feeding, they suggest the Paltry
Tyrannulet, but are slightly larger, yellower underneath, and with
the lower half of the bill light colored (instead of black). All three
were males. March 26, 1954, one was in open shrubbery at about
1200 meters along the Rio Colorado, a tributary of the Rio Chiriqui
Viejo, 10 kilometers west of El Volcan. Another, 20 kilometers
farther west, near Santa Clara, on February 19, 1955, was in the
tops of the undergrowth along a trail through a coffee plantation, at
1300 meters. The third, taken by an assistant, was collected Febru-
ary 25, 1960, at 1800 meters on Cerro Pando. Their slightly larger
582 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
size and somewhat brighter color drew attention, but only in the
hand were they recognized, when I noted the roughened lower end
of the tarsus. In this, the slightly smaller scutes in this area are
smaller than those higher on this part of the leg, with slightly elevated,
rounded papillae, and the lower margin somewhat elevated and
thickened. During preparation of one, I noted that the feather tract
on the center of the back was elongated elliptical in outline, with a
narrow apterion down the center.
The nominate race is found in small numbers in Costa Rica and
Chiriqui, with subspecies described from Colombia and Venezuela.
While currently the group is assigned to the Tyrannidae, earlier it
was placed in the Cotingidae. Lawrence, in his original description,
named the species “in compliment to Mr. J. Zeledon, an intelligent
and promising young naturalist and collector.”’
The nest and eggs are not known. Meise (in Schonwetter, Handb.
Ool., pt. 15, 1968, p. 87) cites a record of von Ihering that describes
an egg of the somewhat larger A. burmeisteri, found from south-
eastern Brazil to Paraguay, Bolivia, and northern Argentina, as
yellowish with a wreath of dark brown and measurements of 16.0X
12.5 mm.
MICROTRICCUS BRUNNEICAPILLUS BRUNNEICAPILLUS
(Lawrence): Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet, Moscareta Cejiblanca
FiGurE 47
Tyrannulus brunneicapillus Lawrence, Ibis, vol. 4, January 1862, p. 12. (Lion
Hill, Atlantic slope, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Very small; with short tail, plump body, and yellow under surface ;
a conspicuous white line over eye.
Description—Length 72-85 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
somewhat sooty brown; hindneck, auricular region, back, scapulars,
lesser wing coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts rather dull olive-
green; primaries and secondaries dusky; greater wing coverts, pri-
maries and secondaries edged with olive-green, this varying to some-
what paler yellowish olive-green on the flight-feathers; tail dull
brown, edged faintly with greenish olive; forehead white, extending
back above eye as a superciliary stripe; lores dusky; under surface,
including under tail coverts, canary yellow, with foreneck, breast,
and sides faintly tinged and lined with olive-green; axillars and
under wing coverts pale yellow; inner webs of wing feathers edged
with yellowish white.
A female, taken March 4, 1964, at the old Tacarcuna village site
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 583
on the base of Cerro Mali, Darién, had the iris warm brown; maxilla
black ; mandible fuscous-black, changing to light grayish brown on
the central line of the gonys; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral
gray.
Measurements.—Males (9 from Canal Zone, eastern Province of
Panama, Darién, and Costa Rica), wing 42.2-47.5 (44.8), tail 23.9-
27.4 (25.4), culmen from base 9.0-9.5 (9.2), tarsus 13.6-15.7
(14.8) mm.
Figure 47.—Yellow-bellied tyrannulet, moscareta cejiblanca, Microtriccus
brunneicapillus brunneicapillus.
Females (4 from Darién and Costa Rica), wing 41.6-42.9 (42.1),
tail 22.2-22.9 (22.4), culmen from base 8.3-9.2 (8.8), tarsus 12.4—
13.6 (12.9) mm.
Resident. Found locally in small numbers in forested areas; on
the Pacific slope from Cerro Campana, western sector of Panama,
southern Canal Zone, and through the eastern sector of the Province
of Panama, eastward to Darién; on the Caribbean side, recorded at
Cocoplum, Bocas del Toro; in the lower Chagres Valley in the Canal
Zone, and in eastern San Blas (Permé, Puerto Obaldia).
R. S. Ridgely recorded it in Cerro Campana July 3, 1968. It was
named from Lion Hill, now submerged in Gatun Lake, from speci-
mens collected by McLeannan, and was found there also and at Gatun
584 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
by E. A. Goldman in 1911. On Barro Colorado Island it is seen
regularly, and also on the Achiote and Pipeline roads. Eisenmann
has seen it near Tocumen and on Cerro Azul. I have recorded it at
La Jagua, and near Chiman in the eastern Province of Panama.
There are various reports of it in Darién in the Tuira Valley from
the Rio Tuquesa and the Rio Chucunaque, Santa Fé, El Real, and
the base of Cerro Mali.
They range, alone or in company with other small birds, from
rather low to high in the treecrown, in their active movement through
the leaves and small twigs suggesting a warbler or a vireo. Among
its companions, the short tail, plump body, and the black, rather
heavy, bill attract the eye. Their food, so far as I have recorded it,
has been small insects.
The characteristic call is described by Eisenmann as a “high-pitched
repetition of whistled notes, usually five, going rapidly down the
scale, the whole phrase uttered in little more than a second.” This
may be heard when the tiny bird is hidden among the leaves.
Dr. Eisenmann and Major Chapelle, on August 15, 1954, on the
slopes of Cerro Azul, found a pair “building a nest in semi-open
woodland, about 12 meters above the ground in a tree of moderate
size. The incomplete nest, saddled in a small fork, partly shaded by
leaves, was a somewhat untidy flattened saucer of fine brownish twigs
(possibly leaf skeletons) mixed with bark shreds. One of the pair,
presumed to be the female, brought bits of bark which she shaped
with her body as she sat in the nest. The other bird, presumed to be
the male, came to perch a meter away.” I have seen no description
of the eggs.
Zimmer (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1126, 1941, p. 3) in a short para-
graph, was “doubtful of the validity of the genus Microtriccus which
differs from Ornithion only in its shorter tail and certain details of
coloration.” He then listed Ornithion subflavum as its single species.
These changes were suggested without further discussion. The sug-
gestion, which has been accepted and followed in some recent publica-
tions, needs consideration. On careful comparison, it appears that
other differences separate the two groups generically, as in Ornithion
the distal outline of the primaries, especially at the outer end, is more
rounded, with the outermost relatively shorter, the primaries only
slightly longer than the longest secondaries, and these wing feathers
. narrower in outline. The tail in Ornithion not only is proportionately
longer, being about four-fifths as long as the wing, but also is com-
posed of feathers that are actually decidedly narrower. The bird as
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 585
a whole appears longer in body. The tarsus is about equal in length
in the two groups, but the toes in Ornithion are smaller. These
structural differences between the two do not appear to support the
suggested union.
Differences in coloration between the two populations found in
Microtriccus are not great but in detail show no overlap. Those from
México south through Nicaragua, continuing beyond on the Pacific
slope of Costa Rica, have the crown slate color and the white super-
ciliary longer. Those from the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica south
through Panama to Colombia and Venezuela have the crown rather
sooty brown and the superciliary less in length. The difference is
slight but appears specific as it is definite without evidence of any
intergradation. It is interesting to note a typical specimen of the
northern semiflavus from San Juan del Norte, on the Caribbean coast
of southeastern Nicaragua, especially since in Costa Rica immediately
to the south the nominate form of brunneicapillus is found. The
northern semiflavus in Costa Rica is confined to the Pacific drainage.
Dr. Paul Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, pp. 272-
273) in his studies in Costa Rica noted slight differences in calls
between the two. His conclusion that the two merit treatment as
separate species on present information seems justified.
Microtriccus b. brunneicapillus beyond Panama continues in north-
western Colombia, where it is recorded at present from central Choco
(Nuqui) on the Pacific Coast east to the middle Magdalena Valley.
To the eastward in the Santa Marta region and extending into western
Venezuela the bird becomes paler yellow on the under surface and
lighter green above, this marking the race dilutus described by Todd
(Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 1913, p. 171).
LEPTOPOGON AMAUROCEPHALUS Tschudi: Sepia-capped
Flycatcher, Moscareta Cabeciparda
Leptopogon amaurocephalus Tschudi, Cabanis Mss., Faun. Peruana, Aves,
1846, p. 162. (Sao Paulo, Brazil.)
Medium size; crown dull grayish brown; back olive-green, with
light buffy brown bars on the wings; side of head dull grayish brown.
Description.—Length 120-130 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
sepia brown, paler on the hindneck ; back, scapulars, and rump olive-
green; upper tail coverts russet-brown; tail dull brown edged with
pale brown; wings dusky; lesser wing coverts olive; middle and
greater coverts tipped with clay color to ochraceous-buff; primaries
narrowly, and secondaries broadly, edged with pale yellowish olive;
586 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
lores dull yellowish olive, mixed with dusky ; side of head anteriorly
light olive, shading to dusky posteriorly, with paler shaft lines; chin
and throat grayish olive, indistinctly lined with dull white; breast
and sides more olive; rest of under surface yellowish white to yellow;
under wing coverts yellowish to pale yellow; inner margins of wing
feathers pale buff.
The species ranges from southern México through Central America,
and South America from Pert to Guyana south to northern Argen-
tina. Two races are found in Panama, one of them restricted to
Isla Coiba.
LEPTOPOGON AMAUROCEPHALUS FAUSTUS Bangs
Leptopogon pileatus faustus Bangs, Auk, vol. 24, no. 3, July 1907, p. 300.
(Boruca, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Brighter colored; crown browner; back brighter
olive-green ; foreneck more olive-green ; abdomen light yellow.
Male and female, from Pedasi, Los Santos, March 11, 1957, had
the iris light brownish yellow ; maxilla and anterior half of mandible
dusky neutral gray; base of mandible light brownish white; tarsus
fuscous ; toes neutral gray; claws dark neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (10 from Los Santos, Canal Zone, and
northwestern Colombia), wing 60.4-65.9 (64.0), tail 50.1-55.5
(53.1), culmen from base 12.5-14.5 (13.9), tarsus 15.4-18.2
(16.4) mm.
Females (8 from Los Santos and northwestern Colombia), wing
59.3-61.8 (60.6), tail 46.7-50.5 (49.1), culmen from base 13.4-14.4
(13.9), tarsus 14.5-16.4 (15.2) mm.
Resident. Found irregularly in small numbers in the Tropical Zone,
on the Pacific slope in Chiriqui (recorded at Bugaba and San Félix),
Veraguas (Santa Fé, El Villano, Cerro Montuosa), Los Santos
(Pedasi), southern Canal Zone (Chiva Chiva, J. R. Karr), and
eastern sector of the Province of Panama (savanna east of Panama
City) ; on the Caribbean side, recorded from Calovévora, northern
Veraguas, and the northern Canal Zone, along the railroad at the
old San Pablo Station (near Frijoles).
Records of two females in the Rothschild collection in the Ameri-
can Museum, taken at Bugaba, western Chiriqui, October 4 and
November 24, 1903, by H. J. Watson, seen not to have been reported
previously, so that when Mrs. M. E. McLellan Davidson collected two
males and two females near San Félix, eastern Chiriqui, from
November 28 to December 10, 1931, she recorded them as the first
known from that Province. Other specimens in the American
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 587
Museum, secured in Veraguas by Benson, are male and female taken
at Santa Fé, March 25 and 28, 1925, El Villano, near Santiago,
August 19, 1924, and Cerro Montuosa (at 650 meters) August 6,
1925. J. R. Karr netted and banded one at Chiva Chiva, Canal Zone
(December 14, 1968). The most eastern specimen on record at
present is a female in the Rothschild collection in New York, taken
February 23, 1899, by E. André, on the savanna east of Panama
City.
In the British Museum (Natural History) there is one (sex
marked 9, but with wing 63.5, probably a male) collected by Arcé
from Calovévora, Veraguas. Griscom (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol.
78, 1935, p. 354) cites two records from “Veraguas” but I have found
only this one. Another (sex not marked) was collected March 25,
1863, by Salvin near the old San Pablo Station between Gamboa and
Frijoles (now submerged in Gatun Lake). Lawrence listed a male
collected by McLeannan and Galbraith on the Atlantic slope near
the railroad, without citing the actual locality. The U.S. National
Museum collections include a male taken by R. R. Benson at Farfan,
Canal Zone, January 27, 1931.
On March 11, 13, and 16, 1957, I found this species in stands of
open forest one the lower Rio Caldera, below Pedasi, Los Santos.
The area was one with low undergrowth beneath trees of moderate
height. Clumps of the spiny corozo palm stood among rather open
shrubs that often were bound with vines. The flycatchers perched
quietly and rather stolidly a few meters above the ground, coming
near when attracted by squeaking. In their quiet mannerism they
suggested Wood Pewees, often resting motionless, only turning the
head slightly to look about. On one occasion when swarms of small,
dull-colored butterflies hovered over the dead leaves on the ground
I found the stomachs of two of these flycatchers crammed with frag-
ments of butterfly remains.
Moore (Condor, vol. 46, 1944, pp. 6-8) described the nest of
Leptopogon a. pileatus (the northern race) in Veracruz, as a round
ball of “green and dried moss, woven around a fragile framework
of very fine roots, plant stems and grasses’? with a small entrance
hole in one side. The three nests seen were suspended from hanging
roots, two of them in dark shadows beneath large rocks. On May 1,
1942, one sheltered two small young. A third nest, beneath a huge log
over a stream, held three heavily incubated eggs which “were im-
maculately white with a slight gloss.’”’ One was broken. The other
two measured 18.5 x 14.8 and 19.8 x 14.5 mm.
While there is no report for this bird to date from eastern Panama
588 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
in Darién or San Blas, it is probable that it may occur there, since a
series in the U.S. National Museum from northwestern Colombia in
the Departments of Antioquia and western Bolivar are like the bird
of Central Panama. Farther east in central and eastern Bolivar, east
through Magdalena to northwestern Venezuela where they become
faintly paler and slightly more brightly colored, they are referred
to as the race diversus described by Todd.
LEPTOPOGON AMAUROCEPHALUS IDIUS Wetmore
Leptopogon amaurocephalus idius Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 134,
no. 9, July 8, 1957. p. 71. (Isla Coiba, Panama. )
Characters.—Generally similar to L.a. faustus, but decidedly grayer
throughout; much paler yellow on lower breast and abdomen; more
grayish green above; wing bars paler, less rufescent; under wing
coverts paler, less yellow.
An adult male, collected January 31, 1956, 4 miles northwest of
La Central, Isla Coiba, had the iris light brownish yellow; maxilla
and tip of mandible dusky neutral gray; base of mandible dull
Marguerite yellow ; tarsus and toes neutral gray ; claws fuscous.
Measurements.—Males (2 specimens), wing 64.3, 65.3, tail 57.4,
57.5, culmen from base 13.7, 13.8, tarsus 14.4, 14.5 mm. (The first
measurement in each case is that of the type. )
Females, none available for measurement.
Resident. Rather rare; restricted to Isla Coiba, off the Pacific coast
of western Panama.
During daily field work on the island January 6 to February 6,
1956, I saw this bird on two occasions. As the island was heavily
forested, a bird of this type that is not common may be encountered
more or less by chance. On the first occasion, on January 31, two
moved rather slowly through the middle branches in gallery forest
at an elevation of about 150 meters. Apparently this was a pair. The
one that I collected, which proved to be a male in breeding condition,
at intervals trembled its partly opened wings while it uttered a low
call, pree-ee-ee-ee. On February 3, another adult male in breeding
condition was taken in heavy forest in this same area. In the subdued
light under the heavy stand of trees it moved quietly through the
lower branches at a level slightly above the undergrowth. Dr. Eisen-
mann notes that he and E. S. Morton captured one in a mist net on
October 9, 1965, “in heavily cutover, rather open woodland.”
The small size of the tarsus in the two specimens taken was noted
during my original studies. While an occasional specimen of L. a.
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 589
faustus agrees in this, the average in the latter race is about 2 milli-
meters longer.
LEPTOPOGON SUPERCILIARIS Tschudi: Slaty-capped
Flycatcher, Moscareta Cabecipizarrosa
Leptopogon superciliaris Tschudi, Arch. Naturg., vol. 10, band 1, 1844, p. 275.
(Pert. )
Medium size; crown slate color, back olive-green; a large black
spot behind the eye.
Description—Length 125-135 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown
dark gray to slate color, the feathers darker centrally ; changing on
hindneck, back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts, and rump to olive-
green; upper tail coverts brownish; wings (except lesser coverts)
dusky ; middle and greater coverts edged with pale buff to pale cin-
namon-buff ; primaries edged narrowly with olive-yellow ; secondaries
bordered more broadly with yellow to yellowish white; lores and
space above nostril mixed grayish white and dusky ; a narrow border
of white on edge of eyelids around the eye; posterior area of side of
head black ; a few whitish spots in an indistinct line at posterior angle
of eye; chin and throat pale olive-gray, lined indistinctly with white,
changing to olive-gray on upper breast and sides; abdomen and
under tail coverts pale yellow; tibiae dull olive-green; axillars and
under wing coverts yellowish white, yellower on carpal edge of wing;
inner margins of wing feathers dull white to pale buff.
As a species these flycatchers range from Costa Rica south through
northern South America to Pert, Bolivia, and Brazil. In Panama
they are inhabitants of highland forests, with those of the west, in
Chiriqui and Veraguas, differing slightly from those of Darién,
so that two geographic races are recognized.
LEPTOPOGON SUPERCILIARIS HELLMAYRI Griscom
Leptopogon superciliaris hellmayri Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69,
no. 8, April 1929, p. 175. (Carrillo, Cartago, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Slightly darker on upper surface, and on foreneck
and breast ; abdomen somewhat deeper yellow.
Measurements—Males (7 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Vera-
guas), wing 64.3-69.3 (67.0), tail 57.5-65.5 (60.5), culmen from
base 13.4-14.6 (14.0, average of 6), tarsus 14.7-15.6 (15.2) mm.
Females (10 from Costa Rica, Chiriqui, and Veraguas), wing
59.0-63.0 (60.9), tail 48.5-55.5 (51.5), culmen from base 12.9-14.8
(13.7), tarsus 13.9-15.0 (14.5) mm.
590 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Resident. Uncommon, in the upper Tropical and Subtropical Zone
forests of Chiriqui and Veraguas.
The first records were specimens sent by Arcé to Salvin (Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 197), taken at Calovévora, Veraguas, in
1869, and near Bugaba, western Chiriqui in 1870. The next report is
that of Mrs. Davidson (Proc. California Acad. Sci., 1938, p. 259),
who collected a male at Barriles (1350 meters elevation), western
Chiriqui, on January 15, 1931.
Four in the National Museum were secured by collectors for Dr.
Frank Hartman near El Volcan, three females, March 8 and 16,
1951, and February 15, 1958, and a male at Santa Clara, farther west,
on March 2, 1953. On Cerro Pando I collected a female March 1,
1954, a male in breeding stage February 12, 1960, and another female
on February 22, 1960. These few records from field work here from
1951 to 1965 indicate the scarcity of the species. The birds were
found singly moving quietly through the higher undergrowth in the
forest, at elevations of 1280 to 1675 meters.
In observations in Costa Rica, Skutch (Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club,
no. 7, 1967, pp. 99-102) found these birds in the mountain forests,
sometimes alone, sometimes accompanying moving bands of other
forest birds. With these it moved quickly, usually 6 to 10 meters
above the ground. The usual calls of two syllables he represented
as peet-yer, or a sharper hit-chu. The only nest that he found was a
rounded ball made of “fibrous rootlets with a small admixture of
light-colored fibers.” The egg chamber was lined with finer, softer
materials, and the rounded entrance was protected by a projection
above. The nest, suspended from a projection beneath a large tree
trunk that had fallen across a small mountain stream, hung free a
meter or so above the boulders in the water. It held a small nestling
with long tufts of gray down adhering to the tips of growing pin-
feathers.
On the island of Trinidad, Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1937, pp.
248-249) found nests of a related subspecies now known as Lepto-
pogon s. pariae (Phelps and Phelps, Jr.), suspended in dark places
beneath boulders or in cavities beneath high banks. Two of the sets
of eggs that they collected, now in the British Museum (Natural
History), were presented by C. K. Belcher. In both, the eggs, sub-
elliptical in form, are plain white without gloss. In one, from near
Morne Bleu, collected February 28, 1932, the nest was described as a
“ball of moss and fibrous materials, lined with silky vegetable down
and a few feathers, 53 inches [140 mm] in diameter with a side
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 591
entrance below the top, suspended by a rootlet in a slight indentation
in a clay bank along a road.” The two eggs measure 19.0 x 13.7, and
19.3 14.0 mm. In the second, collected at the Turure River, the nest
was “in a dark indentation in dark shade along a stream in forest.”
The two eggs measure 20.1 X 14.6, and 19.3 14.3 mm.
LEPTOPOGON SUPERCILIARIS TRANSANDINUS
Berlepsch and Taczanowski
Leptopogon superciliaris transandinus Berlepsch and Taczanowski, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1883 (April 1884), p. 553. (Chimbo, western Ecuador. )
Leptopogon superciliaris troglodytes Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 69,
April 1929, p. 174. (Cana, Darién. )
Characters.—Foreneck, breast, and sides faintly paler, more
greenish gray ; back and crown in series averaging very slightly paler.
A male, taken March 10, 1964, at the old Tacarcuna village site
on the base of Cerro Mali, Darién, had the iris Verona brown; bill
black, gape honey yellow; tarsus and toes neutral gray; claws black.
A female, collected at the same time, had the iris dark mouse brown,
but was like the male otherwise. A second male, on March 14, differed
from the one of March 10 in having the gape dull yellowish white ;
tarsus, toes, and claws black.
Measurements.—Males (10 from Darién), wing 61.7-68.0 (64.8),
tail 52.4-58.0 (56.2), culmen from base 13.6-15.3 (14.3), tarsus
14.4-15.7 (14.9) mm.
Females (8 from Darién), wing 57.4-61.4 (59.5), tail 47.5-59.2
(50.5), culmen from base 12.5-15.3 (13.9, average of 7), tarsus
13.9-14.7 (14.3) mm.
Resident. Recorded locally in the upper Tropical and Subtropical
Zone forests on Cerro Pirre, and on the base of Cerro Mali, Darién.
The first records of this species on Cerro Pirre were made by
E. A. Goldman, who collected a male and three females from 600 to
1375 meters above Cana, from March 9 to June 10, 1912. Benson
took six males and two females there in 1928. Others have been
reported here more recently by Dr. Galindo of the Gorgas Memorial
Laboratory. In the Tacarcuna area this flycatcher was found by
Anthony and Richardson during their explorations in 1915, mainly
at around 600 meters elevation. In my own work there in March
1964, I found them in small number, always in the forests, where they
ranged rather high, mainly in and immediately below the tree crown.
They descended to lower levels, however, as one was taken in a mist
net set on the ground.
592 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Griscom recognized that the population of the Darién forests
differed from that of the western mountains in Panama and described
them both as new. With longer series from Colombia now available
it is appropriate to agree with the summary by Zimmer (Amer. Mus.
Nov., no. 1126, June 26, 1941, pp. 4-5), where the birds of eastern
Panama and the western Andes south in Colombia to western
Ecuador are recognized as the race transandinus, described originally
from Ecuador.
MIONECTES OLIVACEUS Lawrence: Olive-striped Flycatcher,
Moscareta Rayada
Small; olive-green above; two lightly marked yellowish olive wing
bars; under surface light olive, streaked with olive-yellow ; abdomen
pale yellow.
Description—Length 123-146 mm. Ninth primary narrowed for
distal half, markedly so in adult male, to lesser degree in females and
immature males in first season. Adult (male and female similar in
color), above greenish olive with crown slightly darker ; wing grayish
brown, edged with olive-green; middle and greater coverts edged
lightly with olive-buff, forming two slightly marked wing bars; an
indistinct, short post-ocular streak of dull white; side of head other-
wise greenish olive, with faintly indicated paler shaft lines; foreneck,
breast, and sides light olive with shaft lines of pale olive that varies
from whitish to yellowish on breast and side; abdomen and under
tail coverts pale yellow, the latter with faint shaft lines of olive; tibia
olive ; carpal edge, axillars, and under wing coverts pale yellow, with
the under wing coverts marked lightly with pale olive.
Juvenile, faintly duller on the crown; with olive streakings of
under surface less extensive on posterior half of sides, and reduced
to indefinite spots on throat and upper foreneck.
The species ranges widely from Costa Rica through Panama,
and in northern South America from Colombia and Venezuela to
Pert.
MIONECTES OLIVACEUS OLIVACEUS Lawrence
Mionectes olivaceus Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 9, April
1868. p. 111. (Barranca, Costa Rica.)
Characters.—Slightly smaller, with smaller bill; somewhat more
greenish, less olive above; darker markings of under surface some-
what paler; slightly deeper yellow on lower breast and abdomen.
Measurements.—Males (5 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 593
64.3-67.9 (66.1), tail 46.8-50.3 (48.8), culmen from base 13.5-15.2
(14.3, average of 4), tarsus 16.2-17.9 (17.0) mm.
Females (9 from Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica), wing
60.0-64.9 (62.0), tail 41.7-46.5 (43.7), culmen from base 13.8-15.0
(14.2, average of 8), tarsus 16.0-16.9 (16.4) mm.
Resident. Found locally in forested areas in the Tropical and Sub-
tropical zones, to 1800 meters elevation in western Chiriqui, and
western Bocas del Toro.
From available records the nominate form of this species has its
principal distribution in Costa Rica, where Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, p. 274) recorded it as common on both
Caribbean and Pacific slopes though most abundant on the Caribbean
side. In western Chiriqui it is recorded mainly on the slopes of the
volcano, though not in abundance. The first report for Panama is
that of Salvin (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1870, p. 196) who listed
one taken by Arcé. This specimen, now in the British Museum, is
labeled “southern slope Volcan de Chiriqui, 1870.’’ Bangs (Proc.
New England Zool. Club, 1902, p. 351) listed seven collected by
W. W. Brown, Jr., near Boquete in March and April 1901. The
Monniche collection from this same region included male and female
(Blake, Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, 1958, p. 544). On Cerro Pando,
beyond El Volcan, I collected one March 3, 1954, and assistants of
Dr. Frank A. Hartman, three others in February and March 1956,
and February 10, 1960. From March 2 to 30, 1967, near Nueva
Suiza (below Cerro Punta) eight were banded and released by men
working under the direction of Horace Loftin. G. V. N. Powell listed
another there on December 21, 1968.
Near the Rio Chiriqui Viejo I saw one eating small berries in a
feeding tree. The few that I have observed in life moved quietly
through the undergrowth in the forest.
The two specimens, a male and a “female,” that Lawrence desig-
nated as his types, were both collected by J. Carmiol. The male, a
bird with the ninth primary only slightly narrowed, was taken at
Barranca February 26, 1866. According to Carriker (Ann. Carnegie
Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 335) Carmiol’s locality under this name was on
the western slopes of Volcan de Poas. The female labeled “Dota”
(Santa Maria de Dota) in the mountain area, about 60 kilometers
southeast of San José, was collected January 20, 1864. While marked
“©” it is definitely larger than that sex, as with wing of 67.9 mm it
agrees fully in this dimension with males. The bird from Barranca,
an undoubted male, is here designated as the holotype.
594 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
MIONECTES OLIVACEUS HEDERACEUS Bangs
Mionectes olivaceus hederaceus Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 23,
May 4, 1910, p. 73. (Pavas, Valle, Colombia. )
Characters.—Slightly larger, with somewhat longer bill; darker,
more olive-green above; streaks on lower surface somewhat darker ;
lower breast and abdomen slightly paler yellow.
Measurements—Males (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama,
Canal Zone, and Darién), wing 67.2-71.7 (69.6), tail 46.9-53.0
(50.7), culmen from base 15.5-17.5 (16.3), tarsus 16.5-17.5
(16.9) mm.
Females (10 from Coclé, Province of Panama, and Darién), wing
60.4-65.3 (62.9), tail 45.2-49.0 (46.4), culmen from base 14.2-16.1
(15.1), tarsus 15.5-16.5 (16.2) mm.
An adult male, taken on the Rio Guabal, northern Coclé, February
28, 1962, had the iris brown; bill black, except mandibular rami which
were warm brown, and the base of the gonys which was grayish
white; tarsus and toes warm brown; claws grayish brown; inner
surface of bill light blue; inside of mouth, tongue, and fauces black.
Another male, taken on the Rio Pequeni back of Madden Lake,
March 6, 1961, had the entire bill black.
An adult female, collected with first male, on the Rio Guabal, had
the mandibular rami grayish blue, the base of the gonys dull brown,
and the inside of the mouth as in the male. In another, at the base of
Cerro Chucanti, eastern Province of Panama, March 6, 1950, the
iris was brown; bill dusky neutral gray, becoming fuscous at gape;
tarsus and toes fuscous, inner surface of maxilla, mandible, and
tongue light grayish blue.
Resident. Common, widely distributed in forested areas; on the
Pacific slope recorded from the mountains of Veraguas (Chitra),
western Province of Panama (Cerro Campana), southern Canal Zone
(Road K-6), Cerro Azul and the base of Cerro Chucanti, eastern
Province of Panama, east through Darién; to 1580 meters on Cerro
Pirre, and 1450 meters on Cerro Tacarcuna; on the Caribbean slope
from eastern Bocas del Toro and northern Veraguas (Rio Calo-
vévora), northern Coclé (head of Rio Guabal), western sector of
Col6n (Rio Indio), and the lower valley of the Rio Chagres in the
Canal Zone; probably throughout the Comarca de San Blas, but re-
corded only in the east from Permé and Armila to Puerto Obaldia,
near the Colombian boundary.
They range in undergrowth, occasionally higher in the trees, fre-
quently alone, less often in company with traveling parties of other
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 595
small birds. While not rare, they may be seen infrequently as they
move quietly, usually behind cover of leaves. At several localities
where one or two were captured daily in mist nets set in the forest,
they were seen only casually in the undergrowth. In their rather
rapid movement with the traveling flocks of other species, they were
suggestive more of a titmouse or a vireo than of a flycatcher. Their
usual actions were of quick searches among twigs and leaves. On
several occasions I found them eating berries in feeding trees. Though
I saw them at intervals over a period of years I did not record calls
that I could attribute certainly to them. Rarely, in display, one was
seen to thrust one wing, only slightly, if at all opened, straight up
above the back, and as quickly pull it back to normal resting position.
The display was like that of the related Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
Pipromorpha oleaginea. In examination of birds in the hand, the
dark inner lining of the mouth and tongue often attracted attention,
with the suggestion that the color might be for use in some display.
There has been little reported on their breeding. Dr. Neal Smith
recorded a nest which resembled that of Pipromorpha, February 7,
1967, near Gamboa. In the related race Mionectes olivaceus vene-
guelensis, in Trinidad, Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1937, pp. 246—
247) recorded nests similar to those of Pipromorpha, but due ap-
parently to the shy habit of the owners, had difficulty in certain
identification. Smooker saw only two that he was satisfied belonged
to Mionectes. Each held three eggs, plain white, without gloss or
markings. The average size of the six was 18.8 14.3 mm. The nests
were described as rounded balls, externally of moss, with an entrance
in one side. They hung suspended “by aerial roots either from
rocks over the water of streams or from horizontal earth-banks held
together by matted roots.” He described the nests that he certainly
identified as without the long dangling tail usual in Pipromorpha.
Beyond Panama the race hederaceus is recorded through western
Colombia to western Ecuador.
PIPROMORPHA OLEAGINEA (Lichtenstein): Ochre-bellied
Flycatcher, Moscareta Vientre Ocroso
Muscicapa oleaginea Lichtenstein, Verz. Doubl. Zool. Mus. Kon. Univ. Berlin,
1823, p. 55. (Bahia, Brazil.)
Small; foreneck gray to grayish; breast and abdomen buff ; greenish
olive above ; in some races with middle and greater coverts and secon-
daries edged with cinnamon-buff.
This is a species of Tropical Zone woodlands that is widely dis-
596 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
tributed from México south through Central America and South
America to Bolivia and southern Brazil.
In the Isthmus of Panama, where it is common in the Tropical
Zone, they show a definite cline in coloration and measurements from
darker hue and somewhat larger size near the Costa Rican boundary
to brighter color and lesser dimensions in the central lowlands,
continuing in the latter form beyond the Colombian boundary.
Generic status of Pipromorpha as separate from Mionectes is
subject to question. The species included differ definitely in plain
color pattern from the heavily streaked forms characteristic of
Mionectes, a distinction clearly evident even in the juvenile stages
of the two groups. Other than this, the adult males of the streaked
group differ in the much narrowed ninth primary, a sexual character,
and one that becomes evident apparently only at the renewal of the
primaries at the second molt. Nest construction in the two groups
is similar, and in both the eggs are white with no markings. Both
also appear to have a peculiar signal display in which one wing is
thrust up for an instant at right angles to the back. Ames (Peabody
Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 37, 1971, p. 163) reports that the form of
the syrinx is the same in both. Close relationship is evident, with
the Mionectes group probably the more ancient in view of their
greater uniformity, and the definitely plastic Pipromorpha more
recent. While Todd (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 34, 1921,
p. 175), and Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 5, 1927, p. 497)
mention the resemblances, both continue to use the two generic names
in their accounts of the species. Firm decision may come when the
two are more fully known, especially as to life history and other
details of anatomy.
PIPROMORPHA OLEAGINEA DYSCOLA (Bangs)
Mionectes assimilis dyscolus Bangs, Auk, vol. 18, no. 4, October 1901, p. 362.
(Divala, Chiriqui, Panama. )
Generally similar to the race assimilis, but somewhat smaller ;
brighter olive-green above, with the crown concolor with the back;
darker coloration of under surface more extensive on sides and
flanks than in assimilis; buff of abdomen and under tail coverts
somewhat darker.
A female, taken at Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, March 8, 1966, had
the iris dark brown; cutting edge of basal half of mandible dull
brown; rest of bill fuscous-black ; tarsus, toes, and claws dull blackish
slate. Gape dull honey yellow, inner surface of maxilla and mandible
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 597
(within the mouth) light bluish gray; tip of tongue dull yellowish
brown, with the base and the rest of the inside mouth lining dull
blackish slate.
Measurements.—Males (10 from the Pacific slope of Costa Rica
and western Chiriqui), wing 60.0-64.7 (62.4), tail 46.3-52.3 (49.1),
culmen from base 13.0-15.0 (13.9), tarsus 15.2-16.2 (15.8) mm.
Females (2 from Chiriqui), wing 55.4-56.7 (56.0), tail 42.0-43.8
(42.9), culmen from base 13.5-14.0 (13.7), tarsus 14.7-14.8
(14.7) mm.
Resident. Found locally in western Chiriqui from Puerto Ar-
muelles, Santa Clara, and El Volcan to Divala, Boquete, and
Boqueron; to 1250 meters elevation around the base of Volcan
Baru.
This darkest of the races ranges north in Costa Rica on the
Pacific slope. Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964,
p. 275) recorded it in that country in “‘small parties in the Pacific
northwest.”
The observations of Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif., no. 34, 1960,
pp. 561-570) on this species in western Costa Rica refer to the
present race. He speaks especially of one bird near El General
that “plucked a small, dark object from the foliage and, holding it
in the tip of his bill, placed it beneath his wing.” This was an
instance of anting, as on examination he found ants from a small
nest crawling over the branches and leaves.
In the early dry season in March males took stations in the under-
growth and lower tree crown, where for a period of several months
they called persistently whip wit chip chip chip chip, repeating this
steadily through the day. At the same time they display by flitting
the wings, one at a time, raising them above the back and then
folding them. Females are attracted, and after mating, build a nest,
deposit the eggs, incubate, and care for the young without assistance
from the male. The eggs, usually three, less often two, are white
without markings. The average size in 10 was 20.2 14.3 mm. The
young at hatching had a body covering of “sparse but fairly long
gray natal down.”
PIPROMORPHA OLEAGINEA ASSIMILIS (Sclater)
Mionectes assimilis P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 27, May 1859,
p. 46. (Cordoba, Veracruz, México.)
Generally similar to P. 0. dyscola, but larger ; above darker olive-
green; crown averaging darker, more dusky, than the back.
598 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Measurements.—Males (10 from México, Guatemala, Nicaragua,
and eastern Costa Rica), wing 66.1-72.5 (68.6), tail 46.9-55.9
(52.7), culmen from base 13.3-15.7 (14.4), tarsus 16.0-17.9
(16.8) mm.
Females (10 from Guatemala, Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica,
and Bocas del Toro), wing 58.0-61.5 (59.5), tail 42.0-46.7 (44.1),
culmen from base 12.6-14.5 (13.7), tarsus 14.3-16.8 (15.2) mm.
Resident. Found locally in small number in western Bocas del
Toro (Changuinola to Guabo).
This race was first reported from Panama by Griscom (Amer.
Mus. Nov., no. 293, January 12, 1928, p.1) from specimens taken by
Benson in 1927 at Almirante. From April 7, 1927, to October 18,
1928, Hasso von Wedel collected four males and a female at Chan-
guinola, Almirante, and Guabo. In 1958 I secured three females
near Almirante. The first on January 20, was taken in rather dense
second growth on a steep hill slope above Water Valley. On January
29 I found another in the swampy woodlands at Pondsock Point,
and on February 10 the third in the woodland along Quebrada
Nigua. From the records indicated it is probable that the birds
range from the eastern shores of the Laguna de Chiriqui west to
the Costa Rican boundary, possibly farther east in eastern Bocas
del Toro.
Beyond Panama this race ranges through the Caribbean slope of
Costa Rica, and beyond through Central America to eastern México.
In Costa Rica, Slud recorded the display when “it may continually
flick a single wing.”
PIPROMORPHA OLEAGINEA LUTESCENS Griscom
Pipromorpha oleaginea lutescens Griscom, Amer. Mus. Novy., no. 280, Sep-
tember 10, 1927, p. 9. (Santa Fé, Veraguas, Panama.)
Similar in size to P. o. dyscola, but definitely brighter olive-green
above; under surface dark, with the foreneck and upper breast
rather similar to the average in assimilis, but the buff brighter ;
flanks and sides paler.
A male taken at Las Palmitas, Los Santos, January 24, 1962, had
the iris wood brown; maxilla and tip of mandible dull black ; rest of
mandible brownish white; tarsus, toes, and claws dark neutral gray ;
gape dull honey yellow; inside of mouth on the inner surface of the
bill (maxilla and mandible) light neutral gray; palate, and the area
beneath and beside the tongue, dark neutral gray.
Measurements.—Males (10 from eastern Chiriqui and Veraguas),
FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 599
wing 60.4-63.3 (61.7), tail 44.6-48.5 (46.7), culmen from base
13.2-14.8 (13.9), tarsus 14.4-15.6 (15.3) mm.
Females (8 from eastern Chiriqui, Veraguas, and Isla Coiba),
wing 56.2-59.6 (58.1), tail 41.8-45.6 (43.6), culmen from base
13.0-14.5 (13.7), tarsus 14.1-15.1 (14.6) mm.
Resident. Locally fairly common on the Pacific slope from eastern
Chiriqui through Veraguas, including the western side and _ the
southern end of the Azuero Peninsula (Rio Oria near Los Asientos ;
Rio Guanico, near Las Palmitas) Isla Coiba; Islas Gobernadora
and Cébaco, in the southern Golfo de Montijo.
Near Sona and Puerto Vidal in May and early June I noted them
regularly in gallery forest, usually on open perches in the tops of
undergrowth. Males displayed regularly by quickly raising one wing
without spreading it vertically above the back, holding it there for
a second or two and then retracting it to its normal position. They
were fairly common also on Isla Cébaco where we caught them
regularly in mist nets. On Isla Coiba they were seen most frequently
in undergrowth and the lower treecrown in the heavily shaded
forest, where their subdued colors and their usually quiet attitude
made them inconspicuous. The three males taken on Coiba have
slightly longer wings and tails than the series from the mainland,
but do not differ in color.
The range of the race /utescens covers the transition between the
darker population of western Panama and the paler parca, distrib-
uted from the western sector of the Province of Panama and of
Colon east to Colombia.
PIPROMORPHA OLEAGINEA PARCA (Bangs)
Mionectes oleagineus parcus Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, vol. 2,
September 20, 1900, p. 20. (Lion Hill, Canal Zone, Panama.)
Smaller; lighter, brighter olive-green above; breast, abdomen,
sides, flanks, and under tail coverts paler, more cinnamon-buff ;
foreneck and upper breast decidedly paler grayish; middle and
greater coverts distinctly edged with cinnamon-buff; pale edgings
on distal margins of secondaries lighter, more evident.
A male, taken at Chiman, February 16, 1950, had the iris dark
brown; base of bill dull orange-brown; rest blackish brown; tarsus
mouse brown. In another of this sex, at Mandinga, San Blas,
February 12, 1957, the iris was also dark brown; maxilla and tip
of mandible dusky neutral gray; base of mandible dull orange;
tarsus fuscous; toes dull neutral gray; gape very dull orange; inside
600 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
of mouth, including the inner face of the mandible and the tip of
the tongue, ivory-white; inner surface of maxilla pale neutral gray ;
base of tongue and back of mouth cavity dusky neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (10 from northern Coclé, Colon, Province
of Panama, Darién, and San Blas), wing 55.7-59.5 (57.8), tail
39.7-45.8 (44.0), culmen from base 11.4-12.6 (12.0), tarsus 13.2-
15.4 (14.0) mm.
Females (10 from northern Coclé, Province of Panama, Canal
Zone, Darién, and San Blas), wing 52.3-58.1 (56.1), tail 39.4-44.1
(41.5), culmen from base 11.3-13.1 (12.1), tarsus 13.4-14.8
(14.2) mm.
Weight 4, 10.3 grams (R. S. Crossin).
Resident. Common, in forested areas, on the Pacific slope, from
the western sector of the Province of Panama (Cerro Campana)
east through Darién to the Colombian boundary; on the Caribbean
side from the Rio Indio in western Colon (Chilar) and the northern
slope of Coclé (El Uracillo) through the northern Canal Zone, the
lower valley of the Rio Chagres, and the Comarca de San Blas
to Colombia; to 600 meters on Cerro Pirre, and Cerro Tacarcuna
(La Laguna). Archipiélago de las Perlas: Islas San José, Viveros,
and Rey.
This is the most common and widely distributed of the races
found in the Republic, ranging in forests and also in thickets adjacent
to them. Though its subdued colors make it inconspicuous it may
attract attention by its chipping calls, as well as by flipping move-
ments of its wings. In the usual display one closed wing may be
raised vertically full length above the back, held motionless for a
brief second, and then lowered quickly to the resting position. The
action is so rapid that it may not be distinguished from ordinary
flitting movements unless the observer is looking directly at. the
bird. While the bird may utter rapid, chipping calls when excited,
it is silent in this display. The action is like that of the Olive-striped
Flycatcher Mionectes olivaceus. They are found often alone, as
single individuals, but also may join the parties of other small birds
that forage in company in the forests. They pluck insects from
twigs and leaves in rapid, fluttering movements, and also feed exten-
sively on berries when available.
Nest-building, incubation, and the care of the young are reported
as the work of the female alone, without assistance of the male,
with the breeding season extending from February to July. The
nest is a large, elongate, rounded structure, suspended at the end of
FAMILY OXYRUNCIDAE 601
a branch or from a hanging vine, often over water, without any
attempt at concealment, or may hang pendant against or beneath a
bank undercut by water action. The central structure is a mass of
fine rootlets and vines, often mingled with leaves and slender twigs,
expanded in globular form, and attached firmly to the supporting root
or stem. Externally usually it is covered with mossy vegetable
materials. A rounded hole at the lower side opens into the hidden
nest cavity, a fairly deep cup, more or less arched above. A nest
collected by S. Olson and J. Wiese in the Canal Zone near Summit,
May 10, 1966, is approximately 250 mm long by 120 mm wide at the
broadest part. Another, from these same collectors, from near
Gamboa, May 26, 1966, is about 350 mm long by 130 mm wide.
The eggs usually number three in a set. Those from the nest of
May 10, 1966, described above, are slightly pointed subelliptical in
form, and measure as follows: 18.7 x 13.7, 19.0 x 13.6, 19.0 13.8 mm.
Another set of three, collected by Major-General G. Ralph Meyer,
on the Madden Road, Canal Zone, March 18, 1941, similar in color,
lack of gloss, and form, measures 17.8X12.9, 18.113.2, and
18.3 x 13.4 mm. General Meyer’s notes list two other nests found
in the Forest Reserve, Canal Zone, May 24, 1941, in which the
eggs were too far advanced in incubation to be preserved.
Family OXYRUNCIDAE: Sharpbills, Picos Agudos
The single species of this peculiar group has a broken range in
which it is found in Costa Rica; Veraguas, western Panama; Darién ;
eastern Venezuela; Guyana; and Brazil. Two subspecies are recog-
nized in Panama, one in Veraguas and one in eastern Darién.
In brief review, the sharpbill was diagnosed technically first by
Temminck (Anal. Syst. Gen. Orn., Man. d’Orn., ed. 2, vol. 1,
p. Ixxx) as the genus Oxyruncus, placed in his Order VI, Aniso-
dactyli. Bonaparte (Consp. Gen. Av., vol. 1, 1850, p. 211) included
it in the family ‘““Anabatidae,” as did Cabanis (Mus. Hein., vol. 1,
pt. 2, 1859, p. 31). Sclater and Salvin (Exot. Orn., 1868, pp. 131-
132) remarked that while they agreed in part with Cabanis they did
not follow in regarding it “as a genus of Anabatidae, or, as we
prefer to call them, Dendrocolaptidae. It would seem more natural to
consider it as constituting a sub-family, if not a family.” In their
later account (Biol. Centr.-Amer., vol. 2, 1888, p. 1) they located
it in a monotypic family, which has been the usual treatment since.
Its actual relationship to other groups has remained uncertain since
information on its anatomy is not yet known in detail.
602 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Hubert Lyman Clark (Auk, 1913, pp. 404-405), with only the
partial body of one that had been prepared for a study skin available,
compared it with species of Tyrannidae and found no differences in
the few characters that he could see. Ridgway (U.S. Nat. Mus.
Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, pp. 332-333) had available only three study
skins, with uncertain data in part in which he was not able to verify
the serration of the outer primary in the male.
Ames (Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 37, 1971, p. 163) remarks
that while Oxyruncus cristatus “has a basically tyrannid syrinx’’ he
found no special resemblance to any particular genus in that family.
He noted a similarity in the syringeal musculature to that of the
“becards (Pachyramphus) but . . . substantial differences in the sup-
porting cartilages.” In his final summary where he grouped the
Passeriformes in five suborders he placed the Oxyruncidae at the
end of the Tyranni, following the family Tyrannidae.
Those who have seen the bird in life have remarked on its super-
ficial resemblance in rather heavy form of body and short legs to
some of the medium-sized species of Cotingidae, which was my own
impression from my only observation. Its major external difference
is in the form of the bill, which tapers rather evenly from the
heavy base to the narrow, sharply pointed tip.
The nest and eggs as yet are unknown.
OXYRUNCUS CRISTATUS (Swainson): Sharpbill, Pico Agudo
Ficure 48
Oxyrhyncus cristatus Swainson, Zool. Illustr., ser. 1, vol. 1, no. 9, June 1821,
pl. 49 and text. (Brazil.)
Size medium; body heavy, head small, bill tapering from rather
broad base to slender, sharply pointed tip; back greenish; breast
heavily spotted with black.
Description —Length 150-170 mm. Adult male, outer margin of
proximal half of tenth (outermost) primary with tips of barbs
narrowed, acuminate, and bent, directed at an angle downward; head
with a flattened central crest of narrow, elongate scarlet feathers ;
forehead, sides, and back of crown, hindneck, and auricular region
dull white, banded narrowly with black; back, scapulars, and rump
olive-green ; upper tail coverts somewhat duller; wings black, wing
coverts dull black tipped with dull olive-green, shading at the tips to
yellowish white, the lesser series duller than the others; secondaries
edged extensively with pale yellowish white ; inner primaries bordered
narrowly with olive-green; tail dull black, the feathers bordered
FAMILY OXYRUNCIDAE 603
narrowly with dull olive-green and tipped narrowly with white;
under surface of body white to pale yellow, spotted with black,
except in center of abdomen; axillars, under wing coverts, and inner
margins of wing feathers pale yellow.
Female, like male, but without serrations on the tenth primary;
crest shorter with central scarlet area reduced to a narrow line.
oe
, —
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\)
WANS
& vN
ACN)
Figure 48.—Sharpbill, pico agudo, Oxyruncus cristatus.
Immature, like female, but with scarlet markings on the crown
absent or much reduced.
Two forms are recognized in the Republic, one in Veraguas and
one in eastern Darién.
OXYRUNCUS CRISTATUS FRATER (Sclater and Salvin)
Oxyrhamphus frater Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, October 1868,
p. 326. (Calovévora, Veraguas, Panama. )
Characters.—Under surface distinctly yellow ; lower back and rump
slightly darker green.
Measurements——Males (7 from Costa Rica and Veraguas), wing
91.1-96.9 (93.8), tail 53.6-59.3 (56.3), culmen from base 16.8-19.5
(18.2), tarsus 18.7-20.4 (19.7) mm.
Females (5 from Costa Rica and Veraguas), wing 88.5-92.2
604 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
(90.5), tail 51.7-56.7 (54.8), culmen from base 17.6-19.1 (18.6),
tarsus 19.6-20.6 (20.1) mm.
Resident. Rare. Recorded in Veraguas from specimens collected
more than 100 years ago by Enrique Arcé near Chitra, Castillo, and
Calovévora.
In the original description (cit. supra) the authors wrote that
“Arcé’s last collection contains two skins,’ and further, that they
“were secured at Calovevora.’”’ In a second account (Exotic Orn.,
1869= December 1868, p. 131) they added that another sending from
this same locality had further specimens. They described the serra-
tion in the outer web of the tenth primary in the male, noting that
this peculiarity had been figured by Mikan in his account of the form
of Brazil (Delectus Florae et Faunae Brasiliensis, pt. 3, 1823).
Salvin (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. XIV, 1888, pp. 281-282)
listed specimens from Calovévora and Castillo, Veraguas. In the
collections of the British Museum there are in addition male and
female labeled Chitra, taken by Arcé. Hellmayr (Cat. Birds Amer.,
Pt. VI, 1929, p. 3) in his list of material examined includes “Boquete,
Chiriqui 1,” without further explanation. As no specimen has been
found to support it this is not accepted as a valid record. There have
been no modern records from Panama.
The race is found also in Costa Rica where the known range,
according to Dr. Slud, is mainly on the Caribbean side from La
Vijagua, on the slopes of the Cordillera de Guanacaste, northern
Alajuela, along the north face of the Cordillera Central to its eastern
side, with additional records from Orosi, San José and Santa Maria
de Dota.
OXYRUNCUS CRISTATUS BROOKSI Bangs and Barbour
Oxyrunchus brooksi Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 65,
September 1922, p. 220. (Cerro Sapo, Darién, Panama.)
Characters ——Yellow of under surface paler, and less in extent,
absent on foreneck, and reduced on breast.
A female, taken on the base of Cerro Mali, Darién, March 6, 1964,
had the iris pale orange ; maxilla fuscous; mandible with tip fuscous-
brown, and base pale brownish neutral gray; tarsus, toes, and claws
bluish neutral gray.
Measurements—Males (3 from Darién), wing 90.2-93.5 (91.4),
tail 54.8-59.5 (56.0), culmen from base 16.1-17.6 (17.1), tarsus
18.8-20.6 (19.6) mm.
Females (2 from Darién), wing 86.7, 88.7, tail 54.5, 57.5, culmen
from base 18.2 (measurement of one), tarsus 19.0, 19.8 mm.
FAMILY OXYRUNCIDAE 605
Resident. Rare. Known in Darién from the slopes of Cerro Sapo,
back of Garachiné; near Cana, on Cerro Pirre; and La Laguna and
the old Tacarcuna village site, on the north base of Cerro Tacarcuna.
The first specimens of this race were two collected by E. A.
Goldman May 25 and June 11, 1912, on the slopes above Cana
on Cerro Pirre. Barbour and Brooks in April 1922 collected the
type, a male, and two females near the Rio San Antonio on the
slopes of Cerro Sapo, back of Garachiné, where the birds came to a
feeding tree in the forest. Benson secured a male near Cana in 1928.
A male, fully grown but in immature plumage (with only a single
red feather of the head markings of the adult) was taken by Dr.
Pedro Galindo at La Laguna on Cerro Tacarcuna, June 6, 1963.
In early morning .of March 6, 1964, back of our camp at the old
Tacarcuna village site on the base of Cerro Tacarcuna, four or five
stocky-bodied birds flew down from the forested hill above the
river. One alighted in a tall tree where I secured it, a male of this
race. In the hand, the bird with its dense feathering, strongly
muscled, stocky body, and short legs, in general suggested a cotinga
of the larger, heavy-bodied species. In preparing the specimen it
was noted that the dorsal feather tract had a broad central apterion.
The tract had a winglike expansion on either side near the center
of the back, and then narrowed abruptly. In its lower half the line
expanded slightly to continue without a break to end at the base of
the tail.
The stomach of the male collected by Goldman near Cana on
June 11, 1912, was preserved and in due course examined by me.
It was filled with partly digested remains of several spiders, including
many tiny eggs, possibly taken with them. In addition there were
a few fragments of a large ant, and seeds of small size that I did
not identify. The stomach of the one that I collected in the early
morning in 1964 was empty. Barbour and Brooks secured their
specimens at a feeding tree where they were “in company with several
species of Cotingidae.”
As stated under the general heading, the nest and eggs are
unknown.
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INDEX
(Spanish vernacular names are printed in italics.)
Abalius, 142
abditivus, Manacus manacus, 336
absita, Elaenia caniceps, 565
Myiopagis caniceps, 360, 565
accola, Myiopagis placens, 560
Myiopagis viridicata, 360, 560
acedesta, Dendrocincla, 10
Dendrocincla homochroa, 10
Acrochilus erythrops griseigularis, 67
Acrochordopus burmeisteri, 582
zeledoni zeledoni, 364, 580
acrolophites, Schiffornis turdinus, 351
actinosa, Pipra erythrocephala, 319,
322
actiosus, Myiarchus ferox, 429
adastus, Empidonax traillii, 478, 479
aenigma, Sapayoa, 310, 311, 353
aithalodes, Contopus cinereus, 462
albescens, Premnoplex brunnescens, 78
albigula, Myrmotherula, 171
Myrmotherula axillaris, 123, 171
albigularis, Empidonax, 473
Empidonax albigularis, 473
Sclerurus albigularis, 111
albitorques, Erator inquisitor, 297, 298
Tityra, 298
albiventer, Fluvicola, 372
albogriseus, Lipaugus, 433
Pachyramphus, 286
Sirystes sibilator, 357, 433
albovittatus, Coryphotriccus
359, 406
Pitangus, 406
alnorum, Empidonax, 362, 473, 476
Empidonax traillii, 473
altera, Corapipo, 310, 325
Corapipo altera, 328
Corapipo leucorrhea, 328
alticincta, Formicivora, 183
Formicivora grisea, 121, 122, 183
amabilis, Cotinga, 265
amaurocephalus, Leptopogon, 362, 585
parvus,
amitinus, Manacus vitellinus, 342
amnicola, Sayornis, 365
Sayornis nigricans, 365
Ampelis Nattererii, 266
amplus, Contopus sordidulus, 455, 457
Anabacerthia striaticollis, 89
variegaticeps, 58, 88
Anabates erythrocercus, 89
ochrolaemus, 97
rubiginosus, 94
subalaris, 84
anabatina, Dendrocincla anabatina, 9
anabatinus, Thamnistes, 123, 151
Thamnistes anabatinus, 152
Anabazenops lineatus, 86
variegaticeps, 88
analis, Formicarius, 124, 213, 219, 220,
222
Formicarius analis, 219
Myothera, 213
andinus, Sclerurus mexicanus, 113, 115
angustirostris, Sayornis cineracea, 366
Sayornis nigricans, 366
anomalus, Sclerurus mexicanus, 113
Ant-bird, Bare-crowned, 124, 192
Bicolored, 123, 224
Chestnut-backed, 124, 200
Immaculate, 124, 209
Jet, 123, 190
Ocellated, 123, 234
Salvin’s, 123, 206
Spotted, 123, 229
Tyrannine, 124, 186
White-bellied, 123, 197
Wing-banded, 123, 211
Ant-pitta, Black-crowned, 124, 237
Fulvous-bellied, 124, 248
Ochraceous pygmy, 124, 241
Scaled, 124, 243
Spectacled, 124, 250
Ant-shrike, Bar-crested, 148
Barred, 121, 132, 184
607
608 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Ant-shrike—C ontinued
Black, 122, 142
Bridges’, 122, 140
Fasciated, 121, 124
Great, 121, 128
Russet, 123, 151
Slaty, 122, 144
Spiny-faced, 122, 149
Ant-shrikes, 120
Ant-thrush, Black-faced, 124, 213
Black-headed, 124, 220
Rufous-breasted, 124, 222
Ant-thrushes, 120
Ant-vireo, Plain, 123, 154
Spotted-crowned, 123, 158
Ant-wren, Black, 123, 171
Black-breasted, 122, 183
Dotted-winged, 122, 179
Fulvous, 123, 167
Pygmy, 122, 161
Rufous-backed, 122, 185
Rufous-winged, 122, 178
Slaty, 123, 175
Streaked, 122, 163
anthracina, Pipra pipra, 310, 322
antoniae, Carpodectes, 263, 268
Aphanotriccus, 487
arenarum, Elainea, 570
Sublegatus arenarum, 360, 570
argentifrons, Scytalopus, 255, 257
Scytalopus argentifrons, 257, 259
assimilis, Mionectes, 597
Pipromorpha oleaginea, 597
Tolmomyias, 513
Atalotriccus pilaris wilcoxi, 363, 532
Atrapamoscas, 356
corona anillada, 406
real, 496, 497
atricapillus, Orchilus, 534
Perissotriccus, 356, 363, 534
atricaudus, Myiobius, 358, 489, 491
Myiobius atricaudus, 492
atriceps, Empidonax, 360n, 361, 466
atrinucha, Thamnophilus, 144, 147
Thamnophilus punctatus, 122, 144
atrirostris, Sublegatus arenarum, 573
Attila, Bright-rumped, 358, 436
Sclateri, 439
Attila—Continued
spadiceus, 358, 436, 437
spadiceus citreopyga, 438
spadiceus parambae, 441
spadiceus sclateri, 438, 439
audax, Praedo, 362, 485
audens, Myiarchus ferox, 429
aurantiaca, Chiromachaeris, 343
aurantiacus, Manacus, 310, 315, 343
aurantiiventris, Mitrephanes phaeocer-
cus, 480, 482
Mitrephorus, 480
aureatus, Myiobius
358, 487, 492
Myiobius xanthopygus, 487
auricularis, Myiornis, 537
australis, Empidonax albigularis, 361,
471
Automolus cervinigularis hypophaeus,
98
exsertus, 97
fumosus, 94
nigricauda saturatus, 96
ochrolaemus, 58, 82, 97
ochrolaemus exsertus, 97
ochrolaemus hypophaeus, 98
ochrolaemus pallidigularis, 99
pallidigularis, 99
rubiginosus, 94
rubiginosus fumosus, 58, 94
rubiginosus nigricauda, 96
rubiginosus saturatus, 58, 96
rufescens, 92
xanthippe, 94
axillaris, Empidonax, 473
Myrmotherula, 167, 174
Bacaco Pequeno, 294, 295
badius, Pachyramphus cinnamomeus,
276
bangsi, Myiarchus lawrencei, 431
Myiarchus tuberculifer, 431
barbacoae, Hylopezus dives, 249
Hylopezus fulviventris, 244, 249
barbatus, Myiobius, 490
barbirostris, Myiarchus, 429
Barbtail, Spotted, 58, 75
bardus, Craspedoprion olivaceus, 512
Rhynchocyclus olivaceus, 359, 512,
517
sulphureipygius,
INDEX
Becard, Barred, 264, 273
Black-and-white, 264, 284
Black-crowned, 263, 294
Cinereous, 264, 279
Cinnamon, 264, 275
One-colored, 264, 286
Rose-throated, 262
White-winged, 264, 281
Bellbird, Three-wattled, 262, 302
bellulus, Margarornis, 58, 71
Bentbill, Northern, 363, 525
Southern, 363, 527
berlepschi, Myrmeciza, 210
Myrmeciza immaculata, 210
Pipra erythrocephala, 321
Pseudotriccus pelzelni, 362, 537
bicolor, Gymnopithys, 123, 224
Gymnopithys bicolor, 226, 227
Pithys, 227
Bobo, 441, 442
boissonneautii, Pseudocolaptes, 81
borealis, Campylorhamphus pusillus, 54
Nuttallornis, 360, 448
Tyrannus, 448
boreus, Myiarchus crinitus, 425
Borreguito, 288, 289
boultoni, Margarornis rubiginosa, 74
Margarornis rubiginosus, 74
brachytarsus, Contopus cinereus, 460
Empidonax, 460
brachyura, Synallaxis, 57, 61
Synallaxis brachyura, 65
brachyurus, Synallaxis, 61
brevipennis, Campylorhamphus trochi-
lirostris, 3, 50
brevirostris, Cyclorhynchus, 514, 517
Rhynchocyclus, 359, 390, 514, 517
Rhynchocyclus brevirostris, 514
brevis, Grallaricula flavirostris, 243
brewsteri, Empidonax traillii, 477
bridgesi, Thamnophilus, 122, 135, 140,
147
brooksi, Oxyrunchus, 604
Oxyruncus cristatus, 604
brunneicapillus, Microtriccus brunnei-
capillus, 363, 582
Tyrannulus, 582
brunneicauda, Margarornis, 77
Premnoplex brunnescens, 77
609
brunneiceps, Myiarchus, 432
Myiarchus tuberculifer, 432
brunnescens, Margarornis, 75
Premnoplex, 58, 75
Premnoplex brunnescens, 75, 78
buckleyi, Erator inquisitor, 296
burmeisteri, Acrochordopus, 582
Cabezota comin, 426
de paso, 422, 423
gorranegra, 429
Cacicus cela, 390
uropygialis, 390
Calandria, 302, 303, 304
callinota, Formicivora, 185
Terenura, 186
Terenura callinota, 122, 185
Camptostoma flaviventre, 568
obsoletum, 363, 567
obsoletum flaviventre, 568, 570
obsoletum major, 570
obsoletum napaeum, 569
obsoletum orphnum, 569
pusillum major, 570
Campylorhamphus borealis olivaceus,
55
pusillus, 3, 53
pusillus borealis, 54
pusillus olivaceus, 55
trochilirostris brevipennis, 3, 50, 51
trochilirostris venezuelensis, 53
Canastero Pechiblanco, 59, 60
Pizarroso, 61
Canasteros y Hojarasqueros, 56
candei, Manacus, 336
Candelero, 343
canigularis, Sclerurus, 110
Sclerurus albigularis, 59, 110
capnitis, Hylophylax naevioides, 231
Hypocnemis naevioides, 231
Capsiempis flaveola semiflava, 363, 542
Cardenalito, 372
carmioli, Chlorothraupis, 355
Carpodectes antoniae, 263, 268
hopkei, 263, 272
nitidus, 263, 269, 270
carrikeri, Formicarius rufipectus, 223
Casmarhynchus tricarunculatus, 302
cassini, Myrmeciza exsul, 205, 206
610
cassini—C ontinued
Myrmelastes, 206
cayana, Tityra, 296
cayanensis, Myiozetetes, 391
cela, Cacicus, 390
Centurus chrysauchen, 9, 292
Centurus rubricapillus, 9
Cephalopterus glabricollis, 262, 306
ornatus, 308
Cercomacra crepera, 187
nigricans, 123, 190
tyrannina, 124, 186
tyrannina crepera, 187, 190
tyrannina rufiventris, 189
tyrannina tyrannina, 190
cerritus, Manacus, 341
Manacus vitellinus, 341
certhia, Dendrocolaptes, 3, 25
Picus, 25
Certhia, familiaris, 20
Certhiaxis, 66
cinnamomea, 66
ceterus, Myrmelastes, 196, 197
chapmani, Synallaxis brachyura, 64
chiriquensis, Elainea, 552
Elaenia chiriquensis, 361, 552
Scytalopus, 258, 259
Scytalopus argentifrons, 258
chiroleuca, Gymnocichla, 195
Gymnocichla nudiceps, 195
Chiromachaeris aurantiaca, 343
Chiroxiphia lanceolata, 310, 331
chitrae, Empidonax flavescens, 469, 471
chloronotus, Tyrannus, 386
Tyrannus melancholicus, 385, 386
Chloropipo holochlora litae, 310, 324
holochlora suffusa, 324
Chlorothraupis carmioli, 355
olivacea, 42
chocoanus, Phaenostictus macleannani,
236, 237
chocoensis, Grallaria
244, 247
chrysauchen, Centurus, 9, 292
chrysocephalus, Myiodynastes, 401
chrysocrotaphum, Todirostrum, 519
cinerascens, Myiodynastes chrysoce-
phalus, 403
cinerea, Serpophaga cinerea, 547
guatimalensis,
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
cinereiceps, Tolmomyias sulphurescens,
510
cinereigulare, Oncostoma, 363, 525
Todirostrum, 525
cinereiventris, Pachyramphus
chopterus, 284
cinereum, Todirostrum, 519,524
Todirostrum cinereum, 522
cinereus, Contopus, 361, 455, 459
Platyrhynchus, 459
cinnamomea, Certhiaxis, 66
cinnamomeus, Pachyramphus, 264, 275,
277, 280, 390
Pachyramphus cinnamomeus, 276,
277
citreopyga, Attila spadiceus, 438
Dasycephala, 438
clara, Lathria unirufa, 446
Cnipodectes subbrunneus panamensis,
359, 506
Coliaguda Cariroja, 65
Rojiza, 68
colma, Formicarius colma, 219
colombianus, Dendrocolaptes certhia,
28
Colonia colonus colonus, 370
colonus leuconota, 357, 367, 368
colonus, Colonia colonus, 370
columbiana, Tityra semifasciata, 293
columbianus, Myiozetetes, 410
Myiozetetes similis, 359, 410
Philydor rufus, 94
compressus, Lepidocolaptes souleyetii,
9, 45, 47
Thripobrotus, 45
connectens, Myiarchus
430
Conopias, 408
Conopophaga naevioides, 232
consobrina, Formicivora, 182
Microrhopias quixensis, 181, 182
Contopus, 480
cinereus, 361, 455, 459
cinereus aithalodes, 462
cinereus brachytarsus, 460
fumigatus, 451, 452
lugubris, 360, 449, 451
ochraceus, 452
pertinax, 451
poly-
tuberculifer,
INDEX
Contopus—C ontinued
richardsonii peninsulae, 458
richardsonii saturatus, 456
sordidulus, 361, 454, 455
sordidulus amplus, 455, 457
sordidulus griscomi, 458
sordidulus peninsulae, 458
sordidulus saturatus, 455, 456
sordidulus siccicola, 455
sordidulus veliei, 455, 456, 457
veliei, 457
virens, 361, 452, 457
Copurus leuconotus, 367
Corapipo altera, 311, 325, 326
altera altera, 328
altera heteroleuca, 327
leucorrhoa, 326, 328
leucorrhea altera, 328
leucorrhoa heteroleuca, 327
cordobae, Hyloctistes subulatus, 84
coronata, Pipra, 310, 311
coronatus, Onychorhynchus, 500
Onychorhynchus coronatus, 501
Platyrinchus, 504, 505
Thamnistes anabatinus, 152
Corregidor, 229
corvinus, Myrmelastes, 195, 197
Thamnophilus, 197
Coryphotriccus, 358n, 408
parvus, 408
parvus albovittatus, 359, 406
parvus parvus, 407
costaricensis, Dendrocolaptes picum-
nus, 30
Dendrocolaptes validus, 30
Dendrornis lawrencei, 36
Grallaricula, 242
Grallaricula flavirostris, 242
Myrmotherula fulviventris, 168
Pachyramphus versicolor, 264, 273
Tityra semifasciata, 290
Xiphocolaptes emigrans, 24
Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus,
24
Xiphorhynchus guttatus, 36, 38
Coti Castano, 79
Cotinga amabilis, 265
Antonia’s, 263, 268
nattererii, 263, 266
611
Cotinga—C ontinued
Natterer’s, 263, 266
ridgwayi, 263, 264
Ridgway’s, 263, 264
Snowy, 263, 269
White, 263, 272
Cotinga (de) Antonia, 268
azul mayor, 266
piquinegro, 272
(de) Ridgway, 264
Cotingas, 261
Cotingidae, 261
Cranioleuca, 66
erythrops, 57, 65
erythrops griseigularis, 67
erythrops rufigenis, 66, 68, 69
vulpina, 69
vulpina dissita, 56, 57, 68
vulpina vulpina, 69
Craspedoprion olivaceus bardus, 512
Creeper, Sharp-tailed, 57,118 ,
crepera, Cercomacra, 187
Cercomacra tyrannina, 187, 190
crinitus, Myiarchus, 359, 422
Myiarchus crinitus, 424
Turdus, 424
crissalis, Formicarius analis, 219
cristatus, Oxyrhyncus, 602
Oxyruncus, 602
Phyllomyias, 573
Phyllomyias griseiceps, 364, 573
Cristofué, 417
cristula, Elaenia flavogaster, 556, 558
cubla, Dryoscopus, 149
Cyclorhynchus brevirostris, 514, 517
Cymbilaimus lineatus, 219
lineatus fasciatus, 121, 124, 125
lineatus intermedius, 127
darienensis, Deconychura longicauda,
15
Dechonychura typica, 15
Dasycephala citreopyga, 438
Deconychura longicauda, 4, 13
longicauda darienensis, 15
longicauda minor, 16
longicauda typica, 13, 14
typica, 14
typica darienensis, 15
612
Dendrocincla acedesta, 10
anabatina anabatina, 9
anabatina saturata, 3, 7
fuliginosa, 12
fuliginosa ridgwayi, 3, 4, 5
homochroa, 3, 9
homochroa acedesta, 10
homochroa ruficeps, 11
longicauda, 13
olivacea, 4
ridgwayi, 4
ruficeps, 11
tyrannina, 4
Dendrocolaptes certhia, 3, 25
certhia colombianus, 28
certhia hesperius, 27, 28
certhia legtersi, 28
certhia nigrirostris, 26, 28, 29
certhia sancti-thomae, 27, 28
certhia sheffleri, 28
guttatus, 34
picumnus, 3, 30
picumnus costaricensis, 30
picumnus multistrigatus, 30
picumnus veraguensis, 31
promeropirhynchus, 23
sancti-thomae hesperius, 28
Souleyetii, 44
validus costaricensis, 30
Dendrocolaptidae, 2
Dendrocops olivaceus, 4
Dendrocopus griseicapillus, 16
Dendromanes homochrous, 9
Dendroplex picirostris extimus, 32
picus extimus 4, 32
picus panamensis, 33
Dendrornis erythropygia, 41
lachrymosus, 38
lawrencei, 37
lawrencei costaricensis, 36
nana, 37
punctigula, 42
destructus, Formicarius nigricapillus,
221, 222
difficilis, Empidonax, 471
Myiodynastes maculatus, 398
dilutus, Microtriccus brunneicapillus,
585
dissita, Cranioleuca vulpina, 56, 57, 68
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
distinctus, Premnoplex brunnescens, 77
Disythamnus rufiventris, 189
diversus, Leptopogon amaurocephalus,
588
dives, Grallaria, 248
Hylopezus fulviventris, 244, 248
Doctorcito, 334, 335
doliatus, Lanius, 132
Thamnophilus, 120, 121, 132, 147
dominicensis, Lanius tyrannus f, 382
Tyrannus dominicensis, 357, 382
dorsalis, Pachyramphus polychopterus,
284
Dromococcyx pavoninus, 208
Dryoscopus cubla, 149
dumicola, Schiffornis turdinus,
348, 351, 352
Scotothorus veraepacis, 348
dyscola, Pipromorpha oleaginea, 596
dyscolus, Mionectes assimilis, 596
Dysithamnus mentalis, 123, 154
mentalis septentrionalis, 155
mentalis suffusus, 157
puncticeps, 158, 161
puncticeps flemmingi, 160
puncticeps intensus, 158, 160
puncticeps puncticeps, 123, 158
striaticeps, 160, 161
347,
ecaudatus, Perissotriccus, 537
Elaenia caniceps absita, 565
chiriquensis chiriquensis, 361, 552
flavogaster, 361, 555
flavogaster cristula, 556, 558
flavogaster flavogaster, 556, 557
flavogaster pallididorsalis, 556, 557,
558
flavogaster saturata, 557
flavogaster silvicultrix, 556, 557,
558
flavogaster subpagana, 556, 557,
560
flavogastra pallididorsalis, 558
frantzii frantzii, 361, 549
frantzii ultima, 552
obscura, 552
sordidata, 552
subpagana, 557
variegata, 391
INDEX
Elaenia—C ontinued
viridicata pallens, 563
Elaenia, Forest, 360, 563
Gray, 360, 565
Greenish, 360, 560 ©
Lesser, 361, 552
Mountain, 361, 549
Yellow-bellied, 361, 555
Elainea arenarum, 570
Chiriquensis, 552
Elainia Frantzii, 549
macilvainii, 563
semiflava, 542
elata, Sylvia, 580
elatus, Tyrannulus elatus, 580
eminulus, Mitrephanes, 483
Mitrephanes phaeocercus, 482, 483
Empidonax, 480, 485, 562
albigularis, 473
albigularis albigularis, 473
albigularis australis, 361, 471
albigularis timidus, 472, 473
alnorum, 362, 473, 476
atriceps, 360n, 361, 466
axillaris, 473
brachytarsus, 460
difficilis, 471
flavescens, 469, 471
flavescens chitrae, 469, 471
flavescens flavescens, 362, 469
flavescens floresae, 469, 471
flaviventris, 362, 463, 466
griseigularis, 465
minimus, 361n, 362, 468
pectoralis, 468
timidus, 473
traillii, 362, 475
traillii adastus, 478, 479
trallii alnorum, 473
traillii brewsteri, 477
traillii extimus, 478
traillii traillii, 476
virescens, 362, 465
Erator, 296
inquisitor, 263, 294, 295
inquisitor albitorques, 297, 298
inquisitor buckleyi, 296
inquisitor erythrogenys, 296
inquisitor fraserii, 297
613
Erator—Continued
inquisitor inquisitor, 296
inquisitor pelzelni, 296
eremnus, Thamnophilus doliatus, 138
eremonoma, Phaeomyias murina, 363,
547
erratilis, Gymnocichla nudiceps, 194,
210
erythrocephala, Pipra erythrocephala,
310, 316, 319
erythrocephalus, Parus, 319
erythrocercus, Anabates, 89
Philydor, 89
erythrogenys, Erator inquisitor, 296
erythronotus, Philydor, 91
Philydor erythrocercus, 58, 91
erythrops, Craniolecua, 57, 65
Synallaxis, 65
erythropygia, Dendrornis, 41
Xiphorhynchus, 4, 41
exiguus, Herpsilochmus rufomargina-
tus, 122, 178
exsertus, Automolus, 97
Automolus ochrolaemus, 97
exsul, Myrmeciza, 124, 200, 202, 208,
219
Myrmeciza exsul, 202, 206
extimus, Dendroplex picirostris, 32
Dendroplex picus, 4, 32
Empidonax traillii, 478
Fafao Punteado, 75, 76
familiaris, Certhia, 20
fasciatus, Cymbilaimus lineatus, 121,
124
Miophobus fasciatus, 496
faustus, Leptopogon amaurocephalus,
586, 589
Leptopogon pileatus, 586
ferruginea, Myrmeciza, 195, 197
finitimum, Todirostrum cinereum, 363,
519
flammiceps, Pipra erythrocephala, 322
flammulata, Hylopezus fulviventris, 248
Flatbill, Eye-ringed, 359, 514
Olivaceous, 359, 512
flavescens, Empidonax, 469, 471
Empidonax flavescens, 362, 469
614
flavirostris, Grallaria, 241
Grallaricula, 124, 241
flavissima, Pipra erythrocephala, 322
flaviventre, Camptostoma, 568
Camptostoma obsoletum, 568, 570
flaviventris, Empidonax, 362, 463, 466
Manacus aurantiacus, 343, 345
Tyrannula, 463, 540
flavogaster, Elaenia, 361, 555
Elaenia flavogaster, 556, 557
Pipra, 555
flavo-olivaceus, Rhynchocyclus, 508
Tolmomyias sulphurescens,
508
flavotectus, Rhynchocyclus megaceph-
ala, 510
Tolmomyias assimilis, 362, 510
flavovirens, Leptopogon, 539
Phylloscartes, 364, 539
362,
flemmingi, Dysithamnus puncticeps,
160
floresae, Empidonax flavescens, 469,
471
Fluvicola albiventer, 372
pica pica, 357, 370
Flycatcher, Acadian, 362, 465
Alder, 362, 473
Black-billed, 362, 485
Black-capped, 361, 466
Boat-billed, 358, 403
Bran-colored, 361, 494
Brown, 359, 506
Dusky-capped, 359, 429
Fork-tailed, 357, 375
Golden-bellied, 358, 400
Golden-crowned, 357, 401
Gray-capped, 358, 413
Great-crested, 359, 422
Greater black-tailed, 358, 490
Least, 362, 468
Lesser black-tailed, 358, 491
Ochre-bellied, 360, 595
Olive-sided, 360, 448
Olive-striped, 360, 592
Piratic, 359, 388
Royal, 357, 496
Ruddy-tailed, 360, 483
Rusty-margined, 359, 408
Scissor-tailed, 357, 373
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Flycatcher—Continued
Scrub, 360, 570
Sepia-capped, 362, 585
Short-crested, 359, 426
Slaty-capped, 362, 589
Southern beardless, 363, 567
Streaked, 358, 395
Sulphur-bellied, 358, 392
Sulphur-rumped, 358, 487
Traill’s, 362, 475
Tufted, 360, 479
Vermilion, 357, 372
Vermilion-crowned, 359, 410
White-ringed, 359, 406
White-throated, 361, 471
Yellow-bellied, 362, 463
Yellow-margined, 362, 510
Yellow-olive, 362, 508
Yellowish, 362, 469
Flycatchers, Tyrant, 356
fortificata, Muscicapa, 373
Muscivora, 357, 373
Formicariidae, 120
Formicarius analis, 124, 213, 214, 219,
220, 222
analis analis, 219
analis crissalis, 219
analis hoffmanni, 214, 219
analis intermedius, 213
analis moniliger, 213, 219
analis pallidus, 213
analis panamensis, 216
analis saturatus, 218, 219
analis umbrosus, 216
colma colma, 219
colma ruficeps, 219
hoffmanni, 217
moniliger, 214
moniliger panamensis, 216
nigricapillus, 220
nigricapillus destructus, 221, 222
nigricapillus nigricapillus, 124, 220
rufipectus, 124, 222
rufipectus carrikeri, 223
rufipectus rufipectus, 222, 224
umbrosus, 216
Formicivora alticincta, 183
callinota, 185
consobrina, 182
INDEX
Formicivora—Continued
grisea alticincta, 121, 122, 183
grisea hondae, 121, 185
grisea intermedia, 185
schisticolor, 175
virgata, 180
frantzii, Elaenia frantzii, 361, 549
Frantzii, Elainia, 549
fraserii, Erator inquisitor, 297
Fraserii, Psaris, 297
frater, Oxyrhamphus, 603
Oxyruncus cristatus, 603
fraterculus, Onychorhynchus
canus, 357, 496
Fruit crow, Purple-throated, 263, 299
fuliginosa, Dendrocincla, 12
fulvidior, Pachyramphus cinnamomeus,
275, 276
fulvigularis, Myiobius, 483
Terenotriccus erythrurus, 360, 483
fulviventris, Grallaria, 244, 248
Hylopezus, 124, 248
Myrmetherula, 167, 168, 169
Myrmotherula, 123, 167, 174, 177
Myrmotherula fulviventris, 168,
169
fumigatus, Contopus, 451, 452
fumosus, Automolus, 94
Automolus rubiginosus, 58, 94
furfurosus, Myiobius naevius, 494
Myiophobus fasciatus, 361, 494
Furnariidae, 56
furvus, Schiffornis turdinus, 351, 352
Scotothorus, 348, 349
fuscipennis, Philydor, 90
Philydor erythrocercus, 58, 90
mexi-
Gallito Hormiguero, 213, 214
Hormiguero Cabecinegro, 220
Hormuiguero Pechicastano, 222
glabricollis, Cephalopterus, 262, 306
Glyphorynchus spirurus, 4, 20
spirurus pallidulus, 22
spirurus pectoralis, 22
spirurus sublestus, 21
spirurus subrufescens, 23
Grallaria dives, 248
flavirostris, 241
fulviventris, 244, 248
615
Grallaria—C ontinued
guatimalensis, 124, 243, 245
guatimalensis chocoensis, 244, 247
guatimalensis guatimalensis, 246
guatimalensis ochraceiventris, 246
guatimalensis princeps, 244, 245
guatimalensis regulus, 247
intermedia, 252
lizanoi, 251
perspicillata, 244, 253
princeps, 245
Grallaricula Costaricensis, 242
flavirostris, 124, 241
flavirostris brevis, 243
flavirostris costaricensis, 242
vegata, 242
granadensis, Myiozetetes, 358, 390, 413,
414
Myiozetetes granadensis, 414
Taraba major, 132
grandis, Xiphorhynchus, 54
griscomi, Contopus sordidulus, 458
grisea, Serpophaga, 544
Serpophaga cinerea, 363, 544, 566
griseicapillus, Dendrocopus, 16
Sittasomus, 3, 16
griseigula, Laniocera rufescens, 443
griseigularis, Acrochilus erythrops, 67
Cranioleuca erythrops, 67
Empidonax, 465
guatemalensis, Sclerurus, 59, 115
Sclerurus guatemalensis, 116
Tinactor, 116
guatimalensis, Grallaria, 124, 243, 245
Grallaria guatimalensis, 246
Pitangus sulphuratus, 358, 417
Saurophagus, 417
guttatus, Dendrocolaptes, 34
Xiphorhynchus, 4, 15, 34, 101
Gymnocichla chiroleuca, 195
nudiceps, 124, 192, 193, 197
nudiceps chiroleuca, 195
nudiceps erratilis, 194, 210
nudiceps nudiceps, 195
nudiceps santamartae, 194
Gymnopithys bicolor, 123, 224
bicolor bicolor, 226, 227
bicolor olivascens, 225
616
Gymnopithys—C ontinued
leucaspis, 225
rufigula, 225
harterti, Myiozetetes cayanensis, 359,
408
hederaceus, Mionectes olivaceus, 594
hellmayri, Leptopogon superciliaris,
589
Myiozetetes cayanensis, 410
Rhynchocyclus brevirostris, 516
hemichrysus, Hypermitres, 400
Myiodynastes, 358, 400
Herpsilochmus rufomarginatus exi-
guus, 122, 178
hesperius, Dendrocolaptes certhia, 27,
28
hesperius, Dendrocolaptes sancti-tho-
mae, 28
heteroleuca, Corapipo altera, 327
Corapipo leucorrhoa, 327
heterurus, Xenops rutilans, 105, 106
hoffmanni, Formicarius, 217
Formicarius analis, 214, 219
Myrmornis, 214
Hojarasquero Anteado, 92
Garganticanelo, 94
Garganticlaro, 97
Listado, 82
Rabadillirufo, 89
Rayado, 84, 85
Serrano, 88
Hojarasqueros, 56
holerytherus, Lipaugus, 444
holerythra, Rhytipterna holerythra,
358, 444
homochroa, Dendrocincla, 3, 9
homochrous, Dendromanes, 9
Pachyrhamphus, 286
Platypsaris homochrous, 264, 286
hondae, Formicivora grisea, 121, 185
hopkei, Carpodectes, 263, 272
Hormiguera Rayada, 132, 133
Hormiguerito, Alipunteado, 179
Alirufo, 178
Azabache, 190
Leonado, 167
Lomo Acanelado, 185
Negro, 171, 173
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 5
Hormiguerito—Continued
Pechinegro, 183
Pigmeo, 161, 162
Pizarroso, 175
Rayado, 163, 165
Tiranuelo, 186
Hormiguero (de) Anteojos, 250
Bermejon, 151
Bicolor, 224
Coronipunteado, 158
Escamoso, 243
Frentipelado, 192, 193
Frentispinoso, 149
Grande, 128, 130
Inmaculado, 209
Liso, 154
Lomo Castaio, 200
Manchado, 234
Pechiblanco, 197
Pechinegro, 206
Vientrileonado, 248
Hormigueros, 120
Hormiguerote Rayado, 124, 125
Horneros, 56
humeralis, Terenura, 186
Hyloctistes subulatus, 58, 82
subulatus cordobae, 84
subulatus virgatus, 82
Hylopezus dives barbacoae, 249
fulviventris, 124, 248
fulviventris barbacoae, 244, 249
fulviventris dives, 244, 248
fulviventris flammulata, 248
perspicillatus, 124, 250
perspicillatus intermedius, 244, 252
perspicillatus lizanoi, 244, 251
perspicillatus pallidior, 249
perspicillatus perspicillatus, 244,
253
Hylophylax naevioides, 123, 229
naevioides capnitis, 231
naevioides naevioides, 232
naevioides subsimilis, 233
Hypermitres hemichrysus, 400
Hypocnemis naevioides capnitis, 231
hypoleuca, Synallaxis albescens, 59, 61
hypophaeus, Automolus cervinigularis,
98
INDEX
hypophaeus—C ontinued
Automolus ochrolaemus, 98
Platypsaris aglaiae, 288
Icterus, 390
idius, Leptopogon amaurocephalus, 588
idoneus, Xenicopsis variegaticeps, 88
ignifera, Pipra mentalis, 310, 311, 314
ignota, Myrmotherula brachyura, 122,
161
immaculata, Myrmeciza, 124, 202, 204,
205, 209
immaculatus, Thamnophilus, 194, 209
immunda, Rhytipterna, 446
incomptus, Xenops rutilans, 106
incomta, Phaeomyias murina, 548, 549
inquisitor, Erator, 263, 294
Erator inquisitor, 296
Lanius, 294
insolens, Myiodynastes audax, 397
Myiodynastes maculatus, 396, 397
insolitus, Xiphorhynchus erythropygia,
43
Xiphorhynchus punctigula, 43
intensus, Dysithamnus puncticeps, 158,
160
intermedia, Formicivora grisea, 185
Grallaria, 252
intermedius, Cymbilaimus lineatus, 127
Formicarius analis, 213
Hylopezus perspicillatus, 244, 252
Thamnophilus doliatus, 136, 138
johnsoni, Pseudocolaptes, 81
Kingbird, Eastern, 357, 379
Gray, 357, 382
Tropical, 359, 383
Kiskadee, Great, 358, 417
Lesser, 359, 420
lachrymosus, Dendrornis, 38
Xiphorhynchus, 35
Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus, 4, 38
laemosticta, Myrmeciza, 206
Myrmeciza laemosticta, 123, 206
lanceolata, Chiroxiphia, 310, 331
Pipra, 331
617
Laniocera rufescens griseigula, 443
rufescens rufescens, 358, 441, 442
Lanius doliatus, 132
Inquisitor, 294
Tyrannus, 379
tyrannus 6 dominicensis, 382
Lathria unirufa clara, 446
latirostris, Platypsaris aglaiae, 288
latitabunda, Synallaxis albescens, 57,
59
lawrencei, Dendrornis, 37
lawrencii, Myrmelastes, 195, 197
Pseudocolaptes, 79, 81
Pseudocolaptes lawrencii, 57, 79
Leaf-gleaner, Buff-fronted, 58, 92
Buff-throater, 58, 97
Lineated, 58, 59, 84
Ruddy, 58, 94
Rufous-rumped, 58, 89
Scaly-throated, 58, 88
Streak-breasted, 59, 101
Striped, 58, 82
Leaf-scraper, Gray-throated, 59, 110
Scaly-throated, 59, 115
Tawny-throated, 59, 111
Leaf-scrapers, 56
Legatus leucophaius, 283, 356, 359, 388
leucophaius leucophaius, 389
leucophaius variegatus, 389, 391
legtersi, Dendrocolaptes certhia, 28
Lepidocolaptes affinis neglectus, 4, 48
souleyetii, 4, 44
souleyetii compressus, 9, 45, 47
souleyetii lineaticeps, 47
Leptopogon amaurocephalus, 362, 585
amaurocephalus diversus, 588
amaurocephalus faustus, 586, 589
amaurocephalus idius, 588
amaurocephalus pileatus, 587
flavovirens, 539
pileatus faustus, 586
superciliaris, 362, 589
superciliaris hellmayri, 589
superciliaris pariae, 590
superciliaris transandinus, 591
superciliaris troglodytes, 591
Leptotriccus superciliaris, 540
leucaspis, Gymnopithys, 225
leuconota, Colonia colonus, 357, 367
618
leuconotus, Copurus, 367
leucophaius, Legatus, 283, 356, 359, 388
Legatus leucophaius, 389
Platyrhynchos, 389
leucopygus, Thamnophilus, 148
leucorrhoa, Corapipo, 326, 328
levis, Sittasomus, 18
Sittasomus griseicapillus, 17, 18
lictor, Pitangus, 358n
Pitangus lictor, 421, 422
lineata, Syndactyla subalaris, 86
lineaticeps, Lepidocolaptes souleyetii, 47
Picolaptes, 47
lineatus, Anabazenops, 86
Cymbilaimus, 219
Lipaugus albogriseus, 433
holerytherus, 444
rufescens, 441
unirufus, 446
unirufus unirufus, 358, 446
litae, Chloropipo holochlora, 310, 324
littoralis, Xenops, 109
Xenops minutus, 109
lizanoi, Grallaria, 251
Hylopezus perspicillatus, 244, 251
Lochmias, 120
nematura nelsoni, 57, 118
nematura nematura, 119
nematura obscurata, 119
nematura sororia, 119
longicauda, Deconychura, 4, 13
Dendrocincla, 13
longipes, Myrmeciza, 219
Myrmeciza longipes, 199
Lophotriccus pileatus, 529
pileatus luteiventris, 363, 529
pileatus pileatus, 532
squamicristatus luteiventris, 529
squamicristatus minor, 529
zeledoni, 530
lugubris, Contopus, 360, 449, 451
luteiventris, Lophotriccus pileatus, 363,
529
Lophotriccus squamicristatus, 529
Myiodynastes, 358, 392, 393
Myiodynastes luteiventris, 393, 395
lutescens, Pipromorpha oleaginea, 598
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
macilvainii, Elainea, 563
Myiopagis gaimardii, 360, 563
maculata, Muscicapa, 395
maculatus, Myiodynastes, 358, 395
Macuquino, 118
Maestro, 367, 368
magdalenae, Pachyramphus cinnamo-
meus, 278
Thamnophilus nigriceps, 144
major, Camptostoma obsoletum, 570
Camptostoma pusillum, 570
Taraba, 219
Taraba major, 131
Manacus aurantiacus, 310, 315, 343
aurantiacus flaviventris, 343, 345
candei, 336
cerritus, 341
manacus, 335, 336
manacus abditivus, 336
vitellinus, 310, 334, 345
vitellinus amitinus, 342
vitellinus cerritus, 341
vitellinus milleri, 335, 336, 341
vitellinus viridiventris, 335
vitellinus vitellinus, 334, 335, 337
Manakin, Blue-crowned, 310, 311
Broad-billed, 311, 353
Golden-collared, 310, 334
Golden-headed, 310, 319
Green, 310, 324
Lance-tailed, 310, 331
Orange-collared, 310, 343
Red-capped, 310, 311, 314
Thrushlike, 311, 346
White-crowned, 310, 322
White-ruffed, 310, 325
Manakins, 309
Margarornis, 76, 120
Beautiful, 58, 71
bellulus, 58, 71
brunneicauda, 77
brunnescens, 75
rubiginosa boultoni, 74
rubiginosus, 57, 73, 76
rubiginosus boultoni, 74
rubiginosus rubiginosus, 73
Ruddy, 57, 73
squamiger, 76, 120
squamiger perlatus, 72
INDEX
marginatus, Myiozetetes, 410
Rhynchocyclus, 511
Xiphorhynchus guttatus, 37
mcleannani, Phaenostictus, 123, 234
Phaenostictus mcleannani, 236
Phlogopsis, 236
Mecocerculus superciliaris palloris, 541
Megarynchus pitangua, 406
pitangua mexicanus, 358, 403
pitangua pitangua, 405
melaena, Myrmetherula axillaris, 175
melancholicus, Tyrannus, 359, 383, 385
Tyrannus melancholicus, 385
melanocrissus, Taraba major, 121, 128
Thamnophilus, 128
mentalis, Dysithamnus, 123, 154
Myothera, 154
Pipra mentalis, 319
Merendero, 237
mexicanus, Megarynchus pitangua, 358,
403
Onychorhynchus mexicanus, 500
Scaphorhynchus, 403
Sclerurus, 59, 111, 119
Sclerurus mexicanus, 112
Microrhopias quixensis, 122, 167, 179
michleri, Pittasoma, 124, 237, 239, 251
Pittasoma michleri, 239
Microrhopias quixensis
181, 182
quixensis virgata, 180
Microtriccus, 584
brunneicapillus brunneicapillus,
363, 582, 583
brunneicapillus dilutus, 585
brunneicapillus semiflavus, 585
milleri, Manacus vitellinus, 335, 336,
341
Minero acanelado, 446
minima, Tyrannula, 468
minimus, Empidonax, 361n, 362, 468
minor, Deconychura longicauda, 16
Lophotriccus squamicristatus, 529
Myiodynastes chrysocephalus, 357,
401
Pipra mentalis, 316
minuscula, Pipra coronata, 313
Pipra velutina, 313
minutus, Turdus, 107
Xenops, 57, 107
consobrina,
619
Mionectes, 596
assimilis, 597
assimilis dyscolus, 596
oleagineus parcus, 599
olivaceus, 360, 592, 600
olivaceus hederaceus, 594
olivaceus olivaceus, 592
olivaceus venezuelensis, 595
mirus, Rhynchocyclus olivaceus, 517
Mitrephanes, 480
aurantiiventris vividus, 481
eminulus, 483
olivaceus, 479
phaeocercus, 360, 479
phaeocercus aurantiiventris,
482
phaeocercus eminulus, 482, 483
phaeocercus vividus, 481
Mitrephorus aurantiiventris, 480
phaeocercus, 479
480,
mnionophilus, Premnoplex brunnes-
cens, 77
monachus, Muscivora tyrannus, 357,
375
Tyrannus (Milvulus), 375
moniliger, Formicarius, 214
Formicarius analis, 213, 219
Mojnona, 555
gris, 565
grisacea, 570
lampina, 567
montaras, 563
verdosa, 560
Mononcita, 552
Moscareta aceitunada, 475
amarilla, 542
amarilleja, 510
amarillenta, 469
azufrada, 508
barbiblanca, 471
barriga amarilla, 463
cabeciparda, 585
cabecipizarrosa, 589
castana, 506
ceja acanelada, 540
cejtblanca, 582, 583
colicastana, 483
colinegra grande, 490
colinegra menor, 491
620 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Moscareta—Continued
coronilla aceitunada, 537
coronilla dorada, 578
cresta-escamada, 529
crestada, 573
enana cabecinegra, 517
enana comin, 519
enana gris, 523
frentiblanca, 580
gorranegra, 466
menor, 468
menuda, 575
monuda, 479
pardusca, 547
pechirrayada, 494
pigmea gorranegra, 534, 535
pigmea ojiblanca, 532
piquiprieta, 485
rabadilla azufrada, 487, 488
rayada, 592
(de) torrentes, 544, 545
verdecita, 539
verdosa, 465
verdusca, 473
vientre ocroso, 595
Mosquero aceitunado, 452
boreal, 448
oscuro, 449
Mourner, Rufous, 358, 444
Speckled, 358, 441
multistriatus, Thamnophilus, 148
multistrigatus, Dendrocolaptes
picumnus, 30
Muscicapa forficata, 373
maculata, 395
obsoleta, 567
oleaginea, 595
pica, 370
purpurata, 299
rubinus, 372
rufa, 279
spadicea, 436
traillii, 476
turdina, 346
tyrannus, 379
virens, 452
Muscivora, 379
forficata, 357, 373
tyrannus monachus, 357, 375, 377
tyrannus tyrannus, 379
Myiarchus barbirostris, 429
brunneiceps, 432
crinitus, 359, 422, 423
crinitus boreus, 425
crinitus crinitus, 424
ferox actiosus, 429
ferox audens, 429
ferox panamensis, 359, 426
lawrencei bangsi, 431
nigriceps, 430
Panamensis, 426
tuberculifer, 359, 429
tuberculifer bangsi, 431
tuberculifer brunneiceps, 432
tuberculifer connectens, 430
tuberculifer nigricapillus, 432
tuberculifer tuberculifer, 430
Myiobius atricaudus, 358, 489, 491
atricaudus atricaudus, 492
atricaudus suffusus, 494
barbatus, 490
fulvigularis, 483
naevius furfurosus, 494
sulphureipygius aureatus, 358, 487,
488, 492
villosus, 490
villosus villosus, 358, 490
xanthopygus aureatus, 487
Myiodynastes audax insolens, 397
chrysocephalus, 401
chrysocephalus cinerascens, 403
chrysocephalus minor, 357, 401
hemichrysus, 358, 400
luteiventris, 358, 392, 393
luteiventris luteiventris, 393, 395
luteiventris swarthi, 394, 395
luteiventris vicinior, 394
maculatus, 358, 395
maculatus difficilis, 396, 398
maculatus insolens, 396, 397
maculatus nobilis, 397
Myiopagis caniceps absita, 360, 565
caniceps parambae, 566, 567
gaimardii macilvainii, 360, 563
gaimardii trinitatis, 565
placens accola, 560
viridicata accola, 360, 560
viridicata placens, 562
INDEX
Myiophobus fasciatus fasciatus, 496
fasciatus furfurosus, 361, 494
Myiornis auricularis, 537
Myiothera nudiceps, 195, 197
Myiozetetes cayanensis, 391
cayanensis harterti, 359, 408
cayanensis hellmayri, 410
columbianus, 410
granadensis, 358, 390, 413, 414
granadensis granadensis, 414
granadensis occidentalis, 416
marginatus, 410
similis, 390
similis columbianus, 359, 410
similis similis, 413
Myothera analis, 213
mentalis, 154
Myrmeciza berlepschi, 210
boucardi panamensis, 197
exsul, 124, 200, 202, 208, 219
exsul cassini, 205, 206
exsul exsul, 202, 206
exsul niglarus, 203, 205, 206
exsul occidentalis, 201
ferruginea, 195, 197
immaculata, 124, 202, 204, 205, 209
immaculata berlepschi, 210
immaculata occidentalis, 201
immaculata zeledoni, 209
laemosticta, 206
laemosticta laemosticta, 123, 206
laemosticta nigricauda, 208
laemosticta palliata, 208, 209
longipes, 219
longipes longipes, 199
longipes panamensis, 123, 197
zeledoni, 209
Myrmelastes cassini, 206
ceterus, 196, 197
corvinus, 195, 197
lawrencii, 195, 197
Myrmetherula fulviventris,
169
Myrmornis Hoffmanni, 214
torquata stictoptera, 123, 211
torquata torquata, 213
Myrmotherula albigula, 171
axillaris, 167, 174
axillaris albigula, 123, 171, 173
167, 168,
621
Myrmotherula—Continued
axillaris melaena, 175
brachyura ignota, 122, 161, 162
fulviventris, 123, 167, 174, 177
fulviventris costaricensis, 168
fulviventris fulviventris, 168, 169
fulviventris salmoni, 168, 171
fulviventris viduata, 169
pygmaea, 162
schisticolor, 173
schisticolor schisticolor, 123, 175
surinamensis, 162, 163, 166
surinamensis pacifica, 122, 163, 165
viduata, 169
naevioides, Conopophaga, 232
Hylophylax, 123, 229
Hylophylax naevioides, 232
nana, Dendrornis, 37
nanus, Xiphorhynchus guttatus, 37
napaeum, Camptostoma obsoletum, 569
Nattererii, Ampelis, 266
nattererii, Cotinga, 263, 266
neglectus, Lepidocolaptes affinis, 4, 48
Picolaptes affinis, 48
Platyrinchus mystaceus, 359, 504
Platytriccus albogularis, 504
nelsoni, Lochmias nematura, 57, 118
nematura, Lochmias nematura, 119
Neops spirurus, 20
nesiotes, Thamnophilus doliatus, 139
niglarus, Myrmeciza exsul, 203, 205,
206
nigricans, Cercomacra, 123, 190
Sayornis, 357, 364
Tyrannula, 364
nigricapillus, Formicarius, 220
Formicarius nigricapillus, 124, 220
Myiarchus tuberculifer, 432
nigricauda, Automolus rubiginosus, 96
Myrmeciza laemosticta, 208
nigriceps, Myiarchus, 430
Thamnophilus, 142, 147
Thamnophilus nigriceps, 122, 142
Todirostrum, 363, 517
nigricristatus, Thamnophilus, 136
Thamnophilus doliatus, 121, 135,
136
622
nigrifumosa, Synallaxis, 62
Synallaxis brachyura, 62
nigrirostris, Dendrocolaptes
26, 28, 29
nitidus, Carpodectes, 263, 269
nobilis, Myiodynastes maculatus, 397
nudiceps, Gymnocichla, 124, 192, 197
Gymnocichla nudiceps, 195
Myiothera, 195, 197
Nuttallornis borealis, 360, 448
certhia,
obscura, Elaenia, 552
obscurata, Lochmias nematura, 119
obscurior, Sclerurus mexicanus, 114
obsoleta, Muscicapa, 567
obsoletum, Camptostoma, 363, 517
occidentalis, Myiozetetes granadensis,
416
Myrmeciza exsul, 201
Myrmeciza immaculata, 201
ochraceiventris, Grallaria guatimalen-
sis, 246
ochraceus, Contopus, 452
ochrolaemus, Anabates, 97
Automolus, 58, 82, 97
oleaginea, Muscicapa, 595
Pipromorpha, 360, 595
olivacea, Chlorothraupis, 42
Dendrocincla, 4
olivaceum, Oncostoma, 363, 527
Todirostrum, 527
olivaceus, Campylorhamphus borealis,
5g
Campylorhamphus pusillus, 55
Dendrocops, 4
Mionectes, 360, 592, 600
Mionectes olivaceus, 592
Mitrephanes, 479
Rhynchocyclus, 355, 514, 517
Schiffornis turdinus, 348
olivascens, Gymnopithys bicolor, 225
Pithys bicolor, 225
Oncostoma, 363
cinereigulare, 363, 525
olivaceum, 363, 527
Onychorhynchus coronatus, 500
coronatus coronatus, 501
mexicanus fraterculus, 357, 496,
497
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Onychorhynchus—C ontinued
mexicanus mexicanus, 500
Orchilus atricapillus, 534
ornatus, Cephalopterus, 308
ornatus, Pachyramphus
264, 284
Pachyrhamphus, 284
Ornithion, 584
subflavus, 584
orphnum, Camptostoma obsoletum, 569
Ovenbirds, 56
Oxyrhamphus frater, 603
Oxyrhyncus cristatus, 602
Oxyrunchus brooksi, 604
Oxyruncidae, 601
Oxyruncus cristatus, 602, 603
cristatus brooksi, 604
cristatus frater, 603
albogriseus,
Pachyramphus, 288, 602
albogriseus, 286
albogriseus ornatus, 264, 284
cinnamomeus, 264, 275, 277, 280,
390
cinnamomeus badius, 276
cinnamomeus cinnamomeus, 276,
277
cinnamomeus fulvidior, 275, 276
cinnamomeus magdalenae, 278
polychopterus, 283, 390
polychopterus cinereiventris, 284
polychopterus dorsalis, 284
polychopterus similis, 264, 281
rufus, 264, 279, 285
versicolor costaricensis, 264, 273
Pachyrhamphus homochrous, 286
ornatus, 284
similis, 281
Pachyrhynchus semifasciatus, 288
pacifica, Myrmotherula surinamensis,
122, 163
pacificus, Thamnophilus doliatus, 135,
137
Pajaro Danta, 306
Griton, 436, 437
Toro, 299
pallens, Elaenia viridicata, 563
palliata, Myrmeciza laemosticta, 208,
209
INDEX
pallididorsalis, Elaenia flavogaster, 556,
557, 558
Elaenia flavogastra, 558
pallidigularis, Automolus, 99
Automolus ochrolaemus, 99
pallidior, Hylopezus perspicillatus, 249
pallidulus, Glyphorynchus spirurus, 22
pallidus, Formicarius analis, 213
palloris, Mecocerculus superciliaris, 541
Phylloscartes superciliaris, 541
Paloma del Espiritu Santo, 269, 270
panamensis, Cnipodectes subbrunneus,
359, 506
Dendroplex picus, 33
Formicarius analis, 216
Formicarius moniliger, 216
Myiarchus, 426
Myiarchus ferox, 359, 426
Myrmeciza boucardi, 197
Myrmeciza longipes, 123, 197
Pitangus lictor, 359, 420
Pseudocolaptes lawrencii, 79, 81
Schiffornis turdinus, 349, 351, 352
Scytalopus, 255, 259, 261
Tyrannulus elatus, 360, 578
Tyrannulus reguloides, 578
Xiphocolaptes emigrans, 25
Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus,
25
Papamoscas alicastano, 408
barriga-dorada, 400
cejitblanco, 392
copete gris, 413
copete rojo, 410
copeton, 433, 434
corona-dorada, 401
ladron, 388
montanés, 549
occidental, 455
oriental, 452
rayado, 395, 396
tijerillo, 373
tropical, 459
parambae, Attila spadiceus, 441
Myiopagis caniceps, 566, 567
parca, Pipromorpha oleaginea, 599
parcus, Mionectes oleagineus, 599
pariae, Leptopogon superciliaris, 590
623
Parus erythrocephalus, 319
parvus, Coryphotriccus, 408
Coryphotriccus parvus, 407
Tyranniscus, 575, 577
Tyranniscus vilissimus, 364, 575
Pavita Hormiguera de Bridges, 140
Hormiguera Ceniza, 144
Hormiguera Negra Menor, 142
Hormiguera Rayada, 132
pavoninus, Dromococcyx, 208
Pecho amarillo orillero, 420
pectoralis, Empidonax, 468
Glyphorynchus spirurus, 22
pelzelni, Erator inquisitor, 296
Pseudotriccus pelzelni, 538
peninsulae, Contopus richardsonii, 458
Contopus sordidulus, 458
Perissotriccus atricapillus, 356, 363,
534, 535
ecaudatus, 537
perlatus, Margarornis squamiger, 72
perspicillata, Grallaria, 244, 253
perspicillatus, Hylopezus, 124, 250
Hylopezus perspicillatus, 244, 253
pertinax, Contopus, 451
Pewee, Dark, 360, 449
Ochraceous, 452
Tropical, 361, 459
Phaenostictus macleannani chocoanus,
236, 237
mecleannani, 123, 234
mcleannani mcleannani, 236
mcleannani saturatus, 235
phaeocercus, Mitrephanes, 360, 479
Mitrephorus, 479
Phaeomyias murina eremonoma, 363,
547
murina incomta, 548, 549
murina wagae, 549
Philydor erythrocercus, 89
erythrocercus erythronotus, 58, 91
erythrocercus fuscipennis, 58, 90
erythronotus, 91
fuscipennis, 90
rufobrunneus, 101
rufus, 93
rufus columbianus, 94
rufus rufescens, 58, 92
rufus rufus, 94
624
Philydor—Continued
virgatus, 82
Phlegopsis saturata, 235
Phlogopsis McLeannani, 236
Phoebe, black, 357, 364
Phyllomyias cristatus, 573
griseiceps cristatus, 364, 573
griseiceps quantulus, 573
Phylloscartes flavovirens, 364, 539
superciliaris, 363, 540
superciliaris palloris, 541
superciliaris superciliaris, 540
pica, Fluvicola pica, 357, 370
Muscicapa, 370
Pico(s) Agudo(s), 601, 602, 603
Pico de canoa, 403
Picogrueso acanelado, 275
aliblanco, 281
blanquinegro, 284
cinéreo, 279
gris, 286
veteado, 273
Picolaptes affinis neglectus, 48
lineaticeps, 47
Pico Lezna Rayado, 104
Lezna Pechirrayado, 107
pictum, Todirostrum, 519
picumnus, Dendrocolaptes, 3, 30
Picus certhia, 25
Piha, Rufous, 358, 446
pileatus, Leptopogon amaurocephalus,
587
Lophotriccus, 529
Lophotriccus pileatus, 532
Pipra, coronata, 310, 311
coronata minuscula, 313
coronata velutina, 312
erythrocephala actinosa, 319, 322
erythrocephala berlepschi, 321
erythrocephala erythrocephala,
310, 311, 316, 319
erythrocephala flammiceps, 322
erythrocephala flavissima, 322
erythrocephala rubrocapilla, 322
flavogaster, 555
lanceolata, 331
mentalis ignifera, 310, 311, 314, 317
mentalis mentalis, 319
mentalis minor, 316
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 4
Pipra—Continued
pipra anthracina, 310, 322
pipra pipra, 323
velutina, 311
velutina minuscula, 313
vitellina, 337
Pipridae, 309
Pipromorpha, 485, 507, 595, 596
oleaginea, 360, 595
oleaginea assimilis, 597
oleaginea dyscola, 596
oleaginea lutescens, 598
oleaginea parca, 599
Piquichato aceitunado, 512
coronadorado, 501, 502
gargantiblanco, 504
oscuro, 514
Piquitorcido aceitunado, 527
norteno, 525
pitangua, Megarynchus, 406
Megarynchus pitangua, 405
Pitangus albovittatus, 406
lictor, 358n
lictor lictor, 421, 422
lictor panamensis, 359, 420
sulphuratus, 390, 422
sulphuratus guatimalensis, 358, 417
Pithys bicolor, 227
bicolor olivascens, 225
rufigularis, 197
Pitirre gris, 382
norteno, 379
tropical, 383, 384
Pittasoma michleri, 124, 237, 239, 251
michleri michleri, 239
michleri zeledoni, 238
placens, Myiopagis viridicata, 562
Planidera acanelada, 444
Platypsaris, 288
aglaiae hypophaeus, 288
aglaiae latirostris, 288
homochrous homochrous, 264, 286
Platyrhynchos leucophaius, 389
virescens, 465
Platyrhynchus cinereus, 459
superciliaris, 501
Platyrinchus coronatus, 504, 505
INDEX
Platyrinchus—C ontinued
coronatus superciliaris, 359, 501,
502
mystaceus neglectus, 359, 504
Platytriccus albogularis neglectus, 504
Pogonotriccus ? zeledoni, 580
Pollito Hormiguero de Selva, 211
polychopterus, Pachyramphus, 283, 390
Ponchito ocroso, 241
Pozera, 356, 370
Praedo audax, 362, 485
Premnoplex, 76
brunnescens, 58, 75, 76
brunnescens albescens, 78
brunnescens brunneicauda, 77
brunnescens brunnescens, 75, 78
brunnescens distinctus, 77
brunnescens mnionophilus, 77
princeps, Grallaria, 245
Grallaria guatimalensis, 244, 245
Procnias tricarunculata, 262, 302, 303,
304
promeropirhynchus, Dendrocolaptes, 23
Xiphocolaptes, 3, 23
Psaris, 296
Fraserii, 297
Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii, 81
johnsoni, 81
lawrencii, 79, 81
lawrencii lawrencii, 57, 79
lawrencii panamensis, 79, 81
Pseudotriccus pelzelni berlepschi, 362,
537
pelzelni pelzelni, 538
pullus, Sclerurus mexicanus, 112, 115
punctatus, Thamnophilus, 140, 142
puncticeps, Dysithamnus, 158, 161
Dysithamnus puncticeps, 123, 158
punctigula, Dendrornis, 42
Xiphorhynchus erythropygia, 42
purpurata, Muscicapa, 299
Querula, 263, 299
pusillus, Campylorhamphus, 3, 53
Xiphorhynchus, 53
pygmaea, Myrmotherula, 162
Pygmy-tyrant, Black-capped, 356, 363,
534
Light-eyed, 363, 532
Olive-crowned, 362, 537
Scale-crested, 363, 529
625
Pyriglena tyrannina, 186
Pyrocephalus rubinus, 357, 372
quantulus, Phyllomyias griseiceps, 573
Querula purpurata, 263, 299
quixensis, Microrhopias, 122, 167, 179
Thamnophilus, 179
Rabiblando Bifajeado, 70
Raspahoja Garganticastana, 111
Garganta Escamosa, 115
Gargantigris, 110
regulus, Grallaria guatimalensis, 247
Rhinocryptidae, 254
Rhopias fulviventris salmoni, 168, 171
Rhopoterpe stictoptera, 211
Rhytipterna holerythra holerythra, 358,
444
brevirostris brevirostris, 514
brevirostris hellmayri, 516
flavo-olivaceus, 508
marginatus, 511
megacephala flavotectus, 510
olivaceus, 355, 514, 517
olivaceus bardus, 359, 512, 517
olivaceus mirus, 517
Rhytipterna _holerythra
358, 444
immunda, 446
holerythra rosenbergi, 446
simplex, 446
ridgwayi, Cotinga, 263, 264
Dendrocincla, 4
Dendrocincla fuliginosa, 3, 4
Xenops genibarbis, 108
Xenops minutus, 108
rosenbergi, Rhytipterna
446
Schiffornis turdinus, 351, 353
rubiginosus, Anabates, 94
Automolus, 94
Margarornis, 57, 73, 76
Margarornis rubiginosus, 73
rubinus, Muscicapa, 372
Pyrocephalus, 357, 372
rubricapillus, Centurus, 9
rubrocapilla, Pipra erythrocephala, 322
rufa, Muscicapa, 279
rufescens, Automolus, 92
Laniocera rufescens, 358, 441
holerythra,
holerythra,
626
rufescens—Continued
Lipaugus, 441
Philydor rufus, 58, 92
ruficeps, Dendrocincla, 11
Dendrocincla homochroa, 11
Formicarius colma, 219
rufigenis, Cranioleuca erythrops, 66,
68, 69
Synallaxis, 66
rufigula, Gymnopithys, 225
rufigularis, Pithys, 197
rufipectus, Formicarius, 124, 222
Formicarius rufipectus, 222, 224
rufiventris, Cercomacra tyrannina, 189
Disythamnus, 189
rufobrunneus, Philydor, 101
Thripadectes, 59, 101
rufus, Pachyramphus, 264, 279, 285
Philydor, 93
Philydor rufus, 94
ruticilla, Setaphaga, 492
rutilans, Xenops, 57, 104
salmoni, Myrmotherula fulviventris,
168, 171
Rhopias fulviventris, 168, 171
Saltarin cabeciblanco, 322
cabecicolorado, 314, 317
cabecidorado, 319
corona azul, 311
gorgueriblanco, 325, 326
paralauta, 346
verde, 324
Saltarines, 309
salvini, Sclerurus, 117
Sclerurus guatemalensis, 117
sancti-thomae, Dendrocolaptes certhia,
27, 28
santamartae, Gymnocichla nudiceps, 194
Sapayoa aenigma, 310, 311, 353, 354
saturata, Dendrocincla anabatina, 3, 7
Elaenia flavogaster, 557
Phlegopsis, 235
saturatus, Automolus nigricauda, 96
Automolus rubiginosus, 58, 96
Contopus richardsonii, 456
Contopus sordidulus, 455, 456
Formicarius analis, 218, 219
Phaenostictus mcleannani, 235
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
saturatus—C ontinued
Thamnistes anabatinus, 152
Saurophagus Guatimalensis, 417
savana, Tyrannus, 379
Sayornis amnicola, 365
cineracea angustirostris, 366
nigricans, 357, 364
nigricans amnicola, 365
nigricans angustirostris, 366
nigricans semiatra, 365
Scaphorhynchus mexicanus, 403
Schiffornis turdinus, 309, 311, 346, 355
turdinus acrolophites, 351
turdinus dumicola, 347, 348, 351,
352
turdinus furvus, 351, 352
turdinus olivaceus, 348
turdinus panamensis, 349, 351, 352
turdinus rosenbergi, 351, 353
turdinus stenorhynchus, 350
turdinus veraepacis, 347, 352
schistaceiceps, Todirostrum, 523
Todirostrum sylvia, 363, 523
schisticolor, Formicivora, 175
Myrmotherula, 173
Myrmotherula _ schisticolor,
175
Sclateri, Attila, 439
sclateri, Attila spadiceus, 438, 439
Sclerurus, 120
albigularis albigularis, 111
albigularis canigularis, 59, 110
canigularis, 110
guatemalensis, 59, 115
guatemalensis guatemalensis, 116
guatemalensis salvini, 117
mexicanus, 59, 111, 119
mexicanus andinus, 113, 115
mexicanus anomalus, 113
mexicanus mexicanus, 112
mexicanus obscurior, 114
mexicanus pullus, 112, 115
salvini, 117
Scotothorus furvus, 348, 349
veraepacis dumicola, 348
Scytalopus, 255, 258
argentifrons, 255, 256, 257
argentifrons argentifrons, 257, 259
argentifrons chiriquensis, 258
chiriquensis, 258, 259
123,
INDEX
Scytalopus—Continued
panamensis, 255, 259, 261
panamensis vicinior, 260
vicinior, 255, 260
Scythebill, Brown-billed, 3, 53
Red-billed, 3, 50
semiatra, Sayornis nigricans, 365
semifasciata, Tityra, 263, 288, 296, 297
semifasciatus, Pachyrhynchus, 288
Taraba major, 131
semiflava, Capsiempis flaveola, 363, 542
Elainea, 542
semiflavus, Microtriccus brunneicapil-
lus, 585
septentrionalis, Dysithamnus mentalis,
155
Xenops rutilans, 105, 106
Serpophaga cinerea cinerea, 547
cinerea grisea, 363, 544, 545, 566
grisea, 544
Setaphaga ruticilla, 492
setifrons, Xenornis, 122, 149
Sharpbill(s), 601, 602
sheffleri, Dendrocolaptes certhia, 28
Shrike, Puffback, 149
siccicola, Contopus sordidulus, 455
silvicultrix, Elaenia flavogaster, 556,
557, 558
similis, Myiozetetes, 390
Myiozetetes similis, 413
Pachyramphus polychopterus, 264,
281
Pachyrhamphus, 281
simplex, Rhytipterna, 446
Sirystes, 357, 433
Sirystes sibilator albogriseus, 357, 433,
434
Sittasomus griseicapillus, 3, 16, 17
griseicapillus levis, 17, 18
griseicapillus veraguensis, 18
levis, 18
Soft-tail, Double-banded, 57, 70
sordidata, Elaenia, 552
sordidulus, Contopus, 361, 454, 455
sororia, Lochmias nematura, 119
Souleyetii, Dendrocolaptes, 44
Lepidocolaptes, 4, 44
Spade-bill, Golden-crowned, 359, 501
White-throated, 359, 504
spadicea, Muscicapa, 436
627
spadiceus, Attila, 358, 436
Sphenura subulata, 82
Spinetail, Pale-breasted, 57, 59
Red-faced, 57, 65
Rusty-backed, 56, 57, 68
Slaty, 57, 61
Spinetails, 56
spirurus, Glyphorynchus, 4, 20
Neops, 20
squamiger, Margarornis, 76, 120
stagurus, Taraba major, 131
stenorhynchus, Schiffornis turdinus,
350
stictoptera, Myrmornis torquata, 123,
211
Rhopoterpe, 211
striaticeps, Dysithamnus, 160, 161
striaticollis, Anabacerthia, 89
subalaris, Anabates, 84
Syndactyla, 58, 59, 84
subcinereus, Thamnophilus punctatus,
148
subflavum, Ornithion, 584
Sublegatus arenarum arenarum, 360,
570
arenarum atrirostris, 573
sublestus, Glyphorynchus spirurus, 21
subpagana, Elaenia, 557
Elaenia flavogaster, 556, 557, 560
subrufescens, Glyphorynchus spirurus,
23
subsimilis, Hylophylax naevioides, 233
subulata, Sphenura, 82
subulatus, Hyloctistes, 58, 82
suffusa, Chloropipo holochlora, 324
suffusus, Dysithamnus mentalis, 157
Myiobius atricaudus, 494
sulphuratus, Pitangus, 390, 422
sulphurescens, Tolmomyias, 390
superciliaris, Leptopogon, 362, 589
Leptotriccus, 540
Phylloscartes, 363, 540
Phylloscartes superciliaris, 540
Platyrhynchus, 501
Platyrinchus coronatus, 359, 501
surinamensis, Myrmetherula, 162, 163,
166
swarthi, Myiodynastes luteiventris, 394,
395
Sylvia elata, 580
628
Synallaxis albescens hypoleuca, 59, 61
albescens latitabunda, 57, 59, 60
brachyura, 57, 61
brachyura brachyura, 65
brachyura chapmani, 64
Synallaxis brachyura nigrifumosa, 62
brachyurus, 61
erythrops, 65
nigrifumosa, 62
rufigenis, 66
Syndactyla subalaris, 58, 59, 84, 85
subalaris lineata, 86
subalaris tacarcunae, 85, 87
tacarcunae, Syndactyla subalaris, 87
Xenicopsis subalaris, 87
Tapaculo, Narifio, 255, 260
Pale-throated, 255, 259
Silvery-fronted, 255
Tapaculo Piquigrueso, 260
Plateado, 255, 256
(de) Tacarcuna, 259
Tapaculos, 254
Taraba major, 219
major granadensis, 132
major major, 131
major melanocrissus, 121, 128, 130
major semifasciatus, 131
major stagurus, 131
Terenotriccus, 485
erythrurus fulvigularis, 360, 483
Terenura callinota, 186
callinota callinota, 122, 185
humeralis, 186
Thamnistes anabatinus, 123, 151
anabatinus anabatinus, 152
anabatinus coronatus, 152
anabatinus saturatus, 152
Thamnophilus atrinucha, 144, 147
bridgesi, 122, 135, 140, 147
corvinus, 197
doliatus, 120, 121, 132, 133, 147
doliatus eremnus, 138
doliatus intermedius, 136, 138
doliatus nesiotes, 139
doliatus nigricristatus, 121, 135,
136
doliatus pacificus, 135, 137
doliatus yucatanicus, 136
immaculatus, 194, 209
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Thamnophilus—C ontinued
leucopygus, 148
melanocrissus, 128
multistriatus, 148
nigriceps, 142, 147
nigriceps magdalenae, 144
nigriceps nigriceps, 122, 142
nigricristatus, 136
punctatus, 140, 142
punctatus atrinucha, 122, 144
punctatus subcinereus, 148
quixensis, 179
virgatus, 144
Thripadectes rufobrunneus, 59, 101
Thripobrotus compressus, 45
Tiguin de Agua, 364
Tijereta sabanera, 375, 377
timidus, Empidonax, 473
Empidonax albigularis, 472, 473
Tinactor guatemalensis, 116
Tityra albitorques, 298
cayana, 296
Masked, 263, 288
semifasciata, 263, 288, 289, 296, 297
semifasciata columbiana, 293
semifasciata costaricensis, 290
Todirostrum chrysocrotaphum, 519
cinereigulare, 525
cinereum, 519, 524
cinereum cinereum, 522
cinereum finitimum, 363, 519
nigriceps, 363, 517
olivaceum, 527
pictum, 519
schistaceiceps, 523
sylvia schistaceiceps, 363, 523
Tody-flycatcher, Black-headed, 363,
517
Common, 363, 519
Slaty-headed, 363, 523
Toledo, 331
Tolmomyias assimilis, 513
assimilis flavotectus, 362, 510
sulphurescens, 390
sulphurescens cinereiceps, 510
sulphurescens flavo-olivaceus, 362,
508
torquata, Myrmornis torquata, 213
traillii, Empidonax, 362, 475
Empidonax traillii, 476
INDEX
traillii—C ontinued
Muscicapa, 476
transandinus, Leptopogon superciliaris,
591
Trepador Acettunado, 16, 17
Alicastaio, 7
Barreteado, 25, 26
Bello, 71
Cabecimanchado, 48
Cabecirayado, 44
Cola de Unas, 13
Colorado, 73
Comin, 34
Grande, 23
Leonado, 9
Listado, 38, 39
Manchado, 41
Pardo, 4, 5
Pico de Cura, 20
Pico de Garfio, 50, 51
Pico de Hoz, 53
Piquirecto, 32
Rayado, 30
Trepadores, 2
Trepapalo Rayado, 101
triangularis, Xiphorhynchus, 41
tricarunculata, Procnias, 262, 302
tricarunculatus, Casmarhynchus, 302
trinitatis, Myiopagis gaimardii, 565
troglodytes, Leptopogon superciliaris,
591
Trogon violaceus, 390
tuberculifer, Myiarchus, 359, 429
Myiarchus tuberculifer, 430
Tyrannus, 429
Tufted-cheek, Lawrence’s, 57, 79
turdina, Muscicapa, 346
turdinus, Schiffornis, 309, 311, 346, 355
Turdus crinitus, 424
minutus, 107
typica, Deconychura, 14
Deconychura longicauda, 13, 14
Tyrannidae, 356
tyrannina, Cercomacra, 124, 186
Cercomacra tyrannina, 190
Dendrocincla, 4
Pyriglena, 186
Tyranniscus parvus, 575, 577
vilissimus parvus, 364, 575
629
Tyrannula flaviventris, 463, 540
minima, 468
nigricans, 364
Tyrannulet, Crested, 364, 573
Mouse-colored, 363, 547
Paltry, 364, 575
Rufous-browed, 363, 540
Torrent, 363, 544
White-fronted, 364, 580
Yellow, 363, 542
Yellow-bellied, 363, 582
Yellow-crowned, 360, 578
Yellow-green, 364, 539
Tyrannulus brunneicapillus, 582
elatus elatus, 580
elatus panamensis, 360, 578
reguloides panamensis, 578
Tyrannus, 379
borealis, 448
chloronotus, 386
dominicensis dominicensis, 357, 382
Lanius, 379
melancholicus, 359, 383, 385
melancholicus chloronotus, 384,
385, 386
melancholicus melancholicus, 385
(Milvulus) monachus, 375
Muscicapa, 379
Muscivora tyrannus, 379
savana, 379
tuberculifer, 429
tyrannus, 357, 379
Tyrant, Long-tailed, 357, 367
ultima, Elaenia frantzii, 552
umbraticus, Xenerpestes minlosi, 57, 70
Umbrellabird, Bare-necked, 262, 306
umbrosus, Formicarius, 216
Formicarius analis, 216
unirufus, Lipaugus, 446
Lipaugus unirufus, 358, 446
uropygialis, Cacicus, 390
variegata, Elaenia, 391
variegaticeps, Anabacerthia, 58, 88
Anabazenops, 88
variegatus, Legatus leucophaius, 389,
391
vegata, Grallaricula, 242
630
veliei, Contopus, 457
Contopus sordidulus, 455, 456, 457
velutina, Pipra, 311
Pipra coronata, 311
venezuelensis, Campylorhamphus tro-
chilirostris, 53
Mionectes olivaceus, 595
veraepacis, Schiffornis turdinus, 347,
352
veraguensis, Dendrocolaptes picumnus,
31
Sittasomus griseicapillus, 18
Verdon de Montana, 353, 354
vicinior, Myiodynastes luteiventris, 394
Scytalopus, 255, 260
Scytalopus panamensis, 260
viduata, Myrmotherula, 169
Myrmotherula fulviventris, 169
villosus, Myiobius, 490
Myiobius villosus, 358, 490
violaceus, Trogon, 390
virens, Contopus, 361, 452, 457
Muscicapa, 452
virescens, Empidonax, 362, 465
Platyrhynchos, 465
virgata, Formicivora, 180
Microrhopias quixensis, 180
virgatus, Hyloctistes subulatus, 82
Philydor, 82
Thamnophilus, 144
viridiventris, Manacus vitellinus, 335
vitellina, Pipra, 337
vitellinus, Manacus, 310, 334, 345
Manacus vitellinus, 334, 337
vividus, Mitrephanes aurantiiventris,
481
Mitrephanes phaeocercus, 481
vulpina, Cranioleuca, 69
Cranioleuca vulpina, 69
wagae, Phaeomyias murina, 549
wagleri, Zarhynchus, 390
Water-tyrant, Pied, 356, 357, 370
wilcoxi, Atalotriccus pilaris, 363, 532
Wood Pewee, Eastern, 361, 452
Western, 361, 455
Woodcreeper, Barred, 3, 25
Black-banded, 3, 30
Black-striped, 4, 38
Brown, 3, 4
BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA—PART 3
Woodcreeper—C ontinued
Buff-throated, 4, 34
Long-tailed, 4, 13
Olivaceous, 3, 16
Ruddy, 3, 9
Spotted, 4, 41
Spotted-crowned, 4, 48
Straight-billed, 4, 32
Streak-headed, 4, 9, 44
Strong-billed, 3, 23
Tawny-winged, 3, 7
Wedge-billed, 4, 20
Woodcreepers, 2
Woodpecker, Golden-naped, 9, 292
Red-crowned, 9
Wagler’s, 9
xanthippe, Automolus, 94
Xenerpestes minlosi umbraticus, 57, 70
Xenicopsis subalaris tacarcunae, 87
variegaticeps idoneus, 88
Xenops genibarbis ridgwayi, 108
littoralis, 109
Plain, 57, 106, 107
minutus, 57, 107
minutus littoralis, 109
minutus ridgwayi, 108
rutilans, 57, 104
rutilans heterurus, 105, 106
rutilans incomptus, 106
rutilans septentrionalis, 105, 106
Streaked, 57, 104
Xenornis setifrons, 122, 149
Xiphocolaptes emigrans costaricensis,
24
emigrans panamensis, 25
promeropirhynchus, 3, 23
promeropirhynchus costaricensis,
24
promeropirhynchus panamensis, 25
Xiphorhynchus erythropygia, 4, 41
erythropygia insolitus, 43
erythropygia punctigula, 42
grandis, 54
guttatus, 4, 15, 34, 101
guttatus costaricensis, 36, 38
guttatus marginatus, 37
guttatus nanus, 37
lachrymosus, 35
INDEX 631
Xiphorhynchus—C ontinued Zarhynchus wagleri, 390
lachrymosus lachrymosus, 4, 38, 39 = zeledoni, Acrochordopus zeledoni, 364,
punctigula insolitus, 43 580
pusillus, 53 Lophotriccus, 530
triangularis, 41 Myrmeciza, 209
Myrmeciza immaculata, 209
yucatanicus, Thamnophilus doliatus, Pittasoma michleri, 238
136 Pogonotriccus ?, 580
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